A Turtle's Tail Tale
by Kellie Fay
Summary: In the middle of a fight, Raphael is saved by a mysterious woman.  Who is she? Why does she have such profound affect on our boys in green, and what does Mikey know that he’s not telling?
1. Chapter 1 Raphael's Encounter

A Turtle's Tail Tale

In the middle of a fight, Raphael is saved by a mysterious woman. Who is she? Why does she have such profound affect on our boys in green, and what does Mikey know that he's not telling

Disclaimer: The TMNT belong to Mirage Studios. Lillian is mine, and her people....well that's just too much of a spoiler.

Apologies if my spelling and grammar offends or bothers anyone. Proofreaders are welcome.

And now........

Date: March 9, 1999

Splinter had just brought their lunch out when he heard the thunderous roar of a skateboard, and a tiny turtle on top shouting out "Cowabunga!!!!" Splinter tossed the tray into the air, leaped up himself, and landed on the opposite side of the table catching the tray that had not been disturbed in the least.

"Michelangelo! You should not ride your skateboard inside the lair!" Splinter called out.

Michelangelo did a 360 turn, and stopped right in front of the table.

"Show off!" Leonardo called out as he made his way to the table.. Their brothers, Donatello and Raphael, who were already seated for lunch, giggled.

"Humph!" Michelangelo said as he joined them at the table. "When I have kids I'll let them do anything they want!"

Splinter couldn't help but grin as he set their lunch before them. Michelangelo had such a vivid imagination.

"You can't have kids, dummy. You're a boy!" Raphael said as he reached for the sandwich.

Splinter swatted Raphael's hand gently. "Raphael, manners," he admonished lightly.

While Splinter was chastising Raphael Michelangelo managed to sneak his own sandwich. "Can too!" He said after he had taken a bite. With his mouth full of tuna he continued, "all I have to do is get married!"

"Michelangelo, do not talk with your mouth full!" Splinter said. He passed Leonardo, and Donatello their sandwiches, and a piece of candy since they had waited patiently.

"Who's gonna marry you?" Donatello said with a giggle.

Michelangelo finished his sandwich, and reached for another. "A mermaid!" He announced.

Suddenly Splinter's concern over their manners evaporated. "What did you say?" He asked, giving Michelangelo his full attention.

"I said I wanted to marry a mermaid!" Michelangelo repeated . Suddenly his eyes narrowed, and he looked at his sensei defiantly.

"There are no mermaids," Splinter said sternly. "They are only a myth."

Michelangelo said nothing in answer, but the look he gave his sensei spoke volumes.

I know they're real, and so do you!

Later in his own room, Splinter meditated on the problem. His sons were growing older. They were exploring more and more of the sewers. It was only a matter of time before they were discovered. It would be best to step up their training, teach them to beware all strangers. Hopefully they would learn caution enough to avoid any they would find here in the sewers. Even myths.

In his own room, underneath a tent he had made from two mended sheets, Michelangelo lay on top of his comic collection. His favorite, Aquaman, was on the top. Even so he payed little attention to them, instead looking over to where Splinter sat in his afternoon meditation.

"I wish," he said hidden in his little tent. "I wish I could make you understand, sensei. She's not going to take me away from you." He sighed, and went back to his books.

Suddenly he heard Raphael mouthing off to Leonardo nearby. "Oh yes I can!" He was saying.

"But we're not supposed to!" Leonardo insisted.

Suddenly a mischievous grin came over Michelangelo's face. Raphael had called him a dummy before. It was about time he got even. Without another thought to his wish, or his dilemma. Michelangelo snuck out of his tent, planning how he would scare the shell off of Raphael.

Chapter 1 Raphael's Encounter

Date October 3rd, 2004

"So here are the keys," Casey said as he dropped the Budweiser key chain into Raphael's hand. "Feel free to use the weights anytime, pal."

Raphael tucked the keys into his belt. "So when are you going to be back, Case?"

Casey picked up his duffel, and packed one of his baseball bats in it. "Two weeks I think. The funeral is Wednesday, but Aunt Georgia is gonna need someone to deal with the lawyers."

Raphael couldn't resist the jib. "Is that what the bat is for?"

Casey glared at him. "Funny," he said as he zipped up the duffel. I'll give April a call when I'm on the way back."

"Okay, Casey," Raphael said good naturedly. "I'll see you in a few weeks." Raphael watched as Casey went down the stairs with his duffel thrown casually over his shoulder. Once he was sure the coast was clear Raphael went back into the apartment, locked it from the inside, then left from the west window.

Raphael sighed happily as he sat, and caught a breeze on the roof. It was a beautiful fall night. He didn't feel like going back to the lair right away, and staying underground. He decided to go up Chambers Street, and find one of Casey's favorite hang outs. It was a small bar and grill just off of the docks. Casey had brought Raphael in once, and met the cook who had been a friend of Casey's dad. Raphael knew he could always squeeze a meal out of the cook in exchange for some chores.

He bounced over the rooftops to where the little out of the way bar rested lit only by a single street lamp. Raphael, knowing he was welcome, snuck in the back entrance. If it was empty enough and dark enough the cook would find a table where he could eat out of sight. As he opened the door on the meticulously clean kitchen, he was rewarded by the scent of tomato sauce and curry. His stomach growled impatiently. A large man with a cheerful face and an olive complexion looked up towards the open door.

"Sorry, I don't serve turtles, for dinner anyway," the cook teased Raphael as soon as he saw him. "How is it going?"

"Hey yourself, Steve-o," Raphael answered. "Since I ain't on the menu what is for dinner?"

In answer the cook offered Raphael a bowl of chilli over rice. "I'd stay here back here if I were you," he said. " The front is awfully crowded for three in the morning, and they probably would like turtles for dinner."

Curious Raphael cautiously peered out of the kitchen door, and saw three tables full of Purple Dragons. Some instinct made Raphael look in a hidden corner of the bar, and sure enough hiding in a shadow he saw a Foot ninja."

"Purple Dragons, and the Foot?" Raphael closed the door, and took a chair in a small corner to eat. "You sure you don't need a bouncer tonight, Steve?"

The cook, nearly as tall and as broad across the chest as Hun, could have been his own bouncer, but he shook his head no. "They're paying their bills, and they're not causing trouble right now. I know they aren't your favorite people, but..."

Raphael finished for him. "As long as they're minding their own business I should do the same." As usual he was itching to trash both The Dragons and The Foot, but it wouldn't do to trash Steven's means of living. "Okay, pal, I see where you're coming from, but I hope you don't mind if I stick around until they do leave. That way if you need help, I'm right here."

The cook smiled, nodded, and went back to his work. Raphael ate his dinner, but was growing nervy about sitting in the kitchen with two dozen Purple Dragons in the next room. Suddenly Raphael heard the sounds of moving tables and chairs, and then the creaking of the door. Raphael got up, and peeked out into the main dining room again, only to find all the Purple Dragons and Foot, had vanished.

"Where did they go?" The cook wondered from behind Raphael. Raphael moved slowly to the front door of the bar, and peered out of that. The Purple Dragons had surrounded an old man, bent over with age, leaning on a gnarled cane that was topped with a dolphin balancing a crystal ball on it's nose.

"I'll ask you again, old man," Hun, the leader of the Purple Dragons, said threateningly, "Where is it?"

The old man, straightened up as much as he could, and addressed Hun without fear. "Upon my life, I cannot tell you."

Some of the Dragons cracked their knuckles. "It may mean your life if you don't tell us," Hun reminded him.

The old man folded his arms, and looked stubborn. Hun had just about had enough. He back handed the old man, who was knocked down with the blow.

"Now listen to me, old man," Hun said bending over him. He picked up the old man by his collar and brought his face within an inch of his own. "You're going to tell me where the temple is or I'm going to make you wish you had."

That was the last straw as far as Raphael was concerned. He left the safety of the bar, and pulled out his sai. Even though he was hopelessly outnumbered he hoped he would distract them long enough for the old man to get away.

"I don't know anything about a temple, Hun," Raphael said, "but St Anthony's down the corner is hearing confessional tomorrow night, and from what I'm seeing, you and your boys have a lot of confessin' to do."

A few of the Purple Dragons he had encountered before backed up worriedly. Hun glared at him, and noticed right away he was solo. "The freak is alone," he said, "kill it."

Four of the Foot Ninjas advanced on Raphael. He somersaulted over them, and put his shell to the old man's back. "Run for it, I'll keep them off your back," Raphael ordered the man. He expected the old man to be surprised that a giant turtle was giving him orders, but the old man nodded, and ran for a break in the crowd.

Hun tried to stop the old man, but Raphael was right there. He tucked his sai under his arm and used the handle like brass knuckles intensifying his punch. Hun staggered, but he did not fall down. Raphael gave a roundhouse kick to the nearest Ninja then placed his sai back into his belt, and did a handstand kick to a nearby Purple Dragon.

One of the Foot with a manriki gusari tripped him up. Once down, three Purple dragons piled on top of him. He tried to push them off, but more piled on. Once pinned underneath the bodies, they let him up holding him securely.

Raphael roared in anger and frustration, when one of the Purple Dragons came closer Raphael kicked out, but the human just jumped out of the way.

"Finally, we got one of those turtle freaks," One of the Purple Dragons said.

"And now we get to make them pay for messing with our business," another said.

Raphael sighed to himself. Awww shell.

With an evil grin on his face Hun advanced to Raphael his huge hand curled up into a massive fist.

This is going to hurt, Raphael thought.

Hun drew his arm back. Raphael refused to look away, instead focusing his eyes on Hun's hoping that looks could kill.

"Stop that right now!"

Everyone froze in place. Even Hun, whose fist was inches from Raphael's face. Raphael turned to see a young woman with flame red hair, and aquamarine eyes. She was dressed in a cotton aqua dress, that was blowing in the wind, exposing her shapely peach colored legs. On her feet were some light green sandals. She was the most beautiful girl Raphael had ever seen. He was so taken in by her beauty he hardly noticed that the Purple Dragons, and Hun had let him go.

She strode up to Hun as if she had done it a thousand times. "Don't you hurt him," she ordered as she made him bring his arm down. "I happen to like five foot talking turtles. I'm very partial to them."

Hun dropped his arm, and stared at her. Raphael suddenly grabbed the presence of mind to check on the rest of his enemies. All of them were just watching the girl, as if she had suddenly become the most important person in the world to them.

Only one Foot ninja was not frozen. She rushed forward, and grabbed Hun's arm trying to shake it. "Are you out of your mind! You've let that turtle go!" Hun barely noticed her.

"Uh oh," Raphael said. He backed up slightly. He wasn't sure why this one Foot ninja was still aware, heck, he didn't know why the others were all standing staring at the newcomer, but he had enough presence of mind to know that she was still going to be after him. He backed up uneasily, and drew his sai. Strangely enough he did not feel the usual rush of adrenalin that fighting brought up in him. He had it a moment a go, he was sure of it, but now he was completely calm.

As it was his apprehension was unneeded anyway. The strange girl noticed the ninja. "Hold her," she said calmly to Hun. Without hesitating in the least Hun grabbed the ninja, and held her securely.

What the? Hun is holding back one of his own? None of this made any sense to Raphael.

Sense or not, the Foot were obeying this stranger. Or at least most of them were. The one Foot Ninja Hun was restraining was trying to fight her way free. The strange woman looked up at Hun, and said harshly, "now take her, and your men, and begone. I do not wish to see you again by these waters."

"As you wish," Hun said. He picked up the female Foot, who was protesting the whole time, and began wandering away. One by one the rest of The Foot and the Purple Dragons followed.

Raphael absently placed his sai back on his belt. "I've got to be dreaming this," he said to himself. "There's no way Hun and The Foot would just stop pounding on me."

"They won't hurt you," his rescuer said as she watched The Foot leave. "Not as long as I have anything to say about it."

Raphael tried to focus. He was having a hard time thinking, and he wasn't sure why. "What...what did you do to them?" He asked.

She turned her attention to him. Looking deep into her turquoise eyes Raphael felt a strange tug on his heart. Never before in his fifteen years had he ever felt anything like this for anyone. "Don't worry about it. They won't bother with you tonight," she told him. Her voice was rich and melodious, like a cool stream of running water. "Come, Raphael, I'll take you home." She took his arm gently wrapping hers around his."

This was getting stranger and stranger. "Take me-? How do you know my name?" Even though he knew nothing of her the moment she touched him his body relaxed, and he was willing enough to follow her.

"Don't worry about that now," she said. "I'll just take you home, and you can get some rest. Is that okay with you?"

"Okay," he said. To his own surprise he found himself agreeing with this strange girl. Meekly he let her lead him down the street.

"I'm so glad you showed up though," the girl started chatting with him pleasantly. Actually she chatted, he just listened. The more she talked the more he liked it. He didn't have to think about anything. He just listened to her bubbly sweet voice flow like a swift moving stream.

"I knew William was in trouble, but I would not have gotten there in time to prevent him from being hurt. It was very brave of you to take all of them on, I mean you must have known that you could not fight all of them. I've watched you and your brothers fight. You're very good but there were just so many of them. I didn't even know you liked to come over to the west side."

"Casey showed me the bar," Raphael said placidly. This whole conversation was strange, but it was nice. It felt good, and it kept her near him which made him content. He was very aware of her arm on his. It was calming and relaxing. It was probably the first time in his life that he didn't feel apprehensive above ground.

"Oh yes," she said. "You're human friend. Still it was lucky you were there to protect William. She stopped in front of some steel garage doors. Somehow they had ended up by the warehouse where The Battle Shell was kept.

Raphael shook his head in an attempt to clear it. "How? How did we get here?" He looked at her directly. "How did you know–" He was cut off when he focused on her eyes.

"It really isn't important, Raphael," the girl said. "Just go home, and get some rest." She turned away from him, with a flair of her skirt. "Oh and Raph, If anyone wants to know where I'll be for the next few hours, I shall be where the sun touches the sea at dawn." With that she turned a corner and was gone.

Raphael's first impulse was to follow her, but then he remember she told him to go home. Dutifully without another thought he moved to a nearby manhole cover. He didn't even have to think about it. He knew what part of the sewers he was in, and he knew how to get home.

"Again!"

Leonardo didn't even acknowledge his sensei's order. He simply jumped into the air, performed three back flips, drew his katana on the one forward flip, and sliced the frisbee neatly in half.

"Well done , Leonardo," Splinter said. Leonardo relaxed as he saw the pleased expression on his sensei's face.

"Way to go Leo," Donatello said as he sat on the stack of frisbee boxes. Michelangelo had found three gross of frisbee's in the abandon warehouse where The Battle Shell was kept. Michelangelo had trashed three dinner sets and two of Donatello's experiments before Splinter decided that the toys had another use. Michelangelo was forced to watch as Leonardo bisected them one by one.

With a sigh Michelangelo asked, "don't I get to keep any of them?"

"No!" Came the answer from all three of them.

"Awwwww," Michelangelo turned away from the training session, and hopped onto the couch by the video monolith. "In that case I'm putting a movie on." An instant later the monolith lit up with another late night movie.

Leonardo sighed, but he didn't call Michelangelo back. "I guess it's kinda mean, making him watch," he mused leaning against the wall.

Donatello shrugged. "I guess, but I'm still sore at him for trashing my stuff." He gave Leonardo an mischievous look. "You think you can handle two of these at a time?"

"Just try me," Leonardo raised his blades again, but then movement from his left distracted him. "Hey Raph it's about time you got back!"

Raphael wandered into the lair in a daze paying no attention to Leonardo or any of the others. He walked right by them, as if they didn't exist.

Donatello watched as Raphael wandered past him. "Raph?"

When Raphael didn't answer Leonardo sheathed his blades, and moved forward to grab Raphael's arm. "Raphael?"

"Huh? Leo?" Raphael said more confused than anything else. "I'm home?"

Splinter joined Leonardo at Raphael's side."Yeah, Raphael, you are home," he said worried. "Are you all right?"

Raphael frowned in thought. "I...I think so, I just feel weird."

Leonardo led Raphael to the sofa pushing Michelangelo aside. Instead of complaining, Michelangelo made room for them. He perched on the arm of the couch snatching up his bag of chips.

"Raph," Leonardo asked concerned, "What happened to you."

Raphael seemed to be in some kind of strange day dream. He only looked directly at Leonardo when Leonardo addressed him. "Huh? Oh, I ran into The Foot."

That got everyone's attention. "You what?" Donatello asked.

"Are you hurt?" Splinter said. Leonardo's jaw tightened. Raphael could very well be in shock. Maybe that's why he was acting so oddly.

"No," Raphael said, as if it were obvious. "They had me, but she stopped them."

"She?" Michelangelo echoed. Even he was paying attention now.

Raphael nodded a small smile on his face. "She told them to leave me alone. She took me home." Here he yawned hugely, and closed his eyes. "Told me to get some rest."

"She didn't happen to tell you anything useful did she? Like who she was or where she was going?" Michelangelo added.

Raphael yawned again, and lay down on the couch. "Said, she'd be where the sun touches the sea a dawn." He muttered sleepily. Then with a final, "she said I should get some rest." He fell into a deep sound sleep in front of them.

"Where the sun touches the sea? What's that supposed to mean, Raph. Raph? Raphael?" Splinter shook Raphael trying to wake him, but Raphael's only response was to start snoring.

Michelangelo moved from the arm of the sofa to straddling the back. Leaning over he snapped his fingers several times in Raphael's ear. "Totally freaky guys," he said. "He's out cold!"

Now Leonardo was worried. "Donatello do you think that somebody drugged him?"

"I don't know, Leo," Donatello said just as concerned. Carefully he examined Raphael's arms. "I don't see any needle pricks. Someone could have drugged something he ate, but he's way to sly not to notice that."

"He's wasn't acting high though," Michelangelo said thoughtfully. He balanced himself laying on the back of the couch munching away at his chips. "He was acting like someone cast a spell on him or something. This, she told him to rest, and he crashes, and he said something about the sun touching the sea, that's magic talk."

Donatello rolled his eyes. "There's no such thing as magic Mikey, " he said patently. There has to be a rational explanation for this."

"Yeah sure," Michelangelo mumbled as he tossed another chip into his mouth. He jumped up from the back of the couch, and wandered away from them. "Let me know when you figure it out Eienstein."

Nobody noticed exactly when Michelangelo left the lair.

"Don, have you seen Mikey anywhere around?" Leonardo asked.

Donatello looked up from his work. "No, he's not in his room?

"No," Leonardo frowned now and looked back at the couch where Raphael was still sleeping. "It's too quiet in the lair for him to be here, but I didn't notice him leave. Master Splinter doesn't know where he is either"

"We could call him on his shell cell," Donatello suggested.

Leonardo shook his head. "I just tried that too, but he's not answering."

"You think he's gotten himself into trouble?" Donatello asked.

Leonardo sighed. "I don't know, but after what happened to Raph, I'm a little worried.."

Donatello nodded then wheeled his office chair over to a larger computer screen. "In that case I'll just test my latest upgrade to the tracking chips in the Shell Cells." Donatello began to type instructions into the computer. "Last month I increased their range. If he's anywhere within twenty miles of downtown I should be able to find him." On the screen above them flashed a map of the city. Finally one single little green turtle icon began to flash on the lower right hand side of the screen.

"There he is," Donatello said, then looked again at the map of Manhattan. "He's at Battery Park City.

"Battery Park?!" Leonardo caught the significance before Donatello. "Of course. You can see the sunrise there. "

"Well yeah," Donatello said, but what–" Leonardo cut him off.

"Don't you see, Don? Where the sun touches the sea at dawn. The sunrise. Mikey knew exactly what Raph was talking about. He knew what the message meant."

Donatello looked at the screen then turned back to Leonardo. "But how could he know exactly where to go? "

"I don't know," Leonardo said sternly. "But he's going to tell us when we track him down."

Suddenly the beeping signal of the homing device faded away. The lack of sound drew Donatello back to the screen. "Something's wrong," he said. "The homing device isn't functioning now."

"How come?" Leonardo asked looking back at the screen.

"I don't know. We won't be able to track him now." Donatello said with a sigh.

Leonardo folded his arms. "Well we might not be able to follow him now, but we know where he went, and when he gets back I'll have a few questions for him."

Two hours later Leonardo and Donatello found Michelangelo in his room," Where did you go?" Leonardo asked sternly.

"Just out for snacks," Michelangelo said cheerfully.

Leonardo frowned. Michelangelo had some nerve lying to his face. "You didn't answer your shell cell." Donatello commented. He didn't believe Michelangelo either.

Without missing a beat, sounding genuinely confused, Michelangelo, said, "You tried to call? It didn't ring." Casually Michelangelo tossed the phone to Donatello. "Here Don, take a look at it."

"So there isn't anything that you want to tell us," Leonardo said.

Michelangelo munched on his chips, and said with his mouth full," Nope."

Leonardo almost called Michelangelo on it right then and there, but Donatello tugged on Leonardo's headband, and shook his head no. Once in his workshop Donatello explained his reasons.

"You can't prove he was there, or even that the park was what Raphael meant." Donatello said evenly as he examined the broken shell cell.

Leonardo frowned and looked up at Michelangelo's room. "I guess, but I can't shake the idea that Mikey knows something that he's not telling us, and his disappearing is just a sign that he knows what's wrong with Raphael."

Donatello frowned at the shell cell, as he opened the case. "Mikey's been pulling his vanishing turtle act for years. What makes you think that it's connected to what happened to Raph?"

"I don't know," Leonardo admitted with a sigh, "But you have to admit it's kinda funny that he vanished as soon as Raph fell asleep. I wouldn't be surprised if he pulls one of his all day vanishing acts as soon as Raph is okay again."

Michelangelo had the strangest habit of vanishing once every two to three months. He would be gone before anyone was up in the morning, and wouldn't be back until dawn of the next day, again slipping in while everyone was asleep. No one was ever able to get him to explain where he had gone. Splinter would punish him of course, but Michelangelo simply accepted the punishment cheerfully, and would still disappear again in another month or so.

"I'm beginning to think your right," Donatello said, not looking up from his work. "But only because I think I have some evidence to back up your hunch."

"Huh? What do you mean?" Leonardo leaned over to look at Donatello's work on the shell cell. The case was cracked and inside the workings of the phone were small bits of green seaweed.

"Mikey sabotaged it," Donatello explained. "I don't know why he did it, but your call probably tipped him off that he'd better make sure it was non functioning when he brought it back."

Leonardo tensed up instantly. "Mikey broke it himself?"

"It was probably very easy," Donatello told him. "His nunchucks could have easily cracked the case, then all it took was dropping it into the water to corrode the wiring inside. "

The more he heard the less Leonardo liked it. "This is sounding worse and worse. Why would Mikey break his own shell cell?"

"He didn't want to be followed, obviously." Donatello said. He took off his magnifying glasses, and leaned back into his chair uneasily. "You're right, he's not telling us something."

Leonardo frowned deep in thought. "Can you make another kind of homing device and slip it on him, without him knowing?" He asked after a few minutes.

"Piece of cake, why?" Donatello asked.

"Because I don't want Michelangelo slipping out again, without us knowing where he's going," Leonardo said.

Hun walked slowly into his masters chambers ashamed, and afraid for the first time. In his entire life he had never never failed his master. With a gulp, he stood at attention waiting for his master to notice him.

Saki was deep in conversation with a woman, dressed from head to toe in Jet Black with purple edging on the sleeves and legs. She had deep black hair that peeked out from behind a royal purple hood, and blue eyes, that were so icy they sent chills up Hun's spine. At the woman's side was a girl also dressed in a simpler form of the black and purple, without a hood. Her hair was a deep rich brown, as were her eyes, but she paid Hun no attention. Her entire focus was upon her mistress.

"I have heard Satu's report," Saki said with a touch of anger in his voice. "What do you have to say for yourself and your men, Hun?"

With another audible gulp Hun said, "I can say nothing, Master. I have failed you. I...I do not know what happened. One minute we were ready to pound one of those turtle freaks into the ground, and then next...I found myself back here."

"You might as well give it up, Saki," the woman suddenly said. "There is not a man among your Foot Ninja who could have fought your true enemy that night. It wasn't the turtle creature you told me of. It was she who came to rescue him. No man can resist those who come from the sea."

"So you have warned me," Saki said, with an angry glare at Hun. "It would appear you are correct."

"And perhaps now you are willing to hear my offer," The strange woman said with a sly flirtatious smile.

Saki smiled back at her sardonically. "Tell me, Badb " he said.

The woman got to her feet pacing about as she spoke. Her aid followed her obediently "You have women among your Foot. Not many, but twenty is all I will need." She turned to Hun with a condescending smile. "Let your little pet there train them if he wishes, but my Freyja will be his aid." She gestured to the girl beside her. "But when your Foot go out into the field. He can not come. I shall lead them into battle, and I shall find the temple of Aegir. All the ancient power within shall be yours."

"And what do you get out of it?" Saki asked. Hun breathed a sigh of relief. His master was not fooled in the least by this suspicious ally.

Badb sat down behind Saki, and leaned over his shoulder. "There is only one thing I desire, save their mistress' head on a platter, is the Rhinegold," she said.

"And what is that," Saki asked.

"A ring that brings wealth to the user," She said jumping up from her pose. "I need nothing more."

"And all the other treasure of the temple you would give to me?" Saki asked quizzically.

Badb seated herself back in her place before Saki, and sipped her tea. "With the Rhinegold I will have wealth. What more does a woman need? You make keep the petty war toys."

Saki grinned slyly. "In that case Badb, we have a deal, I shall give you a hundred of my female Foot Ninja, and outfit them with the Foot Tech armor. They shall be your personal army of Foot Tech Amazons, but be warned Badb, I do not tolerate failure."

Badb laughed heartily. "Saki you fool you have truly no idea do you? If by some fools chance I do fail, You shan't see me again. "

Saki considered these words thoughtfully. "I see," he said.

As soon as their guests were gone Saki told Hun. "We shall go by her plan for now, because it amuses me, but make sure it is known among our female members, that she who brings me the Rhinegold along with the rest of the treasure will be rewarded handsomely."

Freyja walked down the steps following dutifully two steps behind her mistress as she had been taught, but she had also been taught to use her mind. "My lady, I have served you faithfully ever since I was a child, and you always taught me to ask when I do not understand." she began.

"Speak," Lady Badb said unconcerned.

Freyja continued. "You do not truly mean to give Oroku Saki the treasures of the temple? There is great wealth and power to be had in the trident, and the head, and ....."

Badb's laugher cut her short. "Ah, daughter of my heart, so intelligent, and yet so naive," she said gracing her with a tolerant smile. "You simply do not understand my strategy. You see once I have the Rhinegold, and the doom of my enemies is upon my own finger Saki will never see the rest of the treasure, because he will be finding his treasure in Hades!"

Look for Chapter 2 Hunting

"Leo! Leo! Come on already pick up!!" Donatello shouted into his shell cell.

"It is too late," Splinter said, sadly. "Leonardo has followed Michelangelo into the water. He is in grate peril, and we cannot save him."

Splinter withdrew from Donatello and Raphael to his own room. Raphael was shocked and angry.

"What does he mean we can't save him! What kind of danger? What did Mikey just get Leo into?" Raphael punched the wall for emphasis.

"I don't know, Raph," Donatello said. "Mikey might be reckless, but he wouldn't put Leo in any real danger. "Suddenly they heard a click as the Shell Cell was answered. "Finally. Leo, tell me what the sh-"

It wasn't Leonardo's, but Michelangelo's voice that came over the Shell Cell. "I'm sorry, but Leonardo can't come to the phone right now. He's busy getting himself caught in a trap of his own making. You guys really should have kept him home. I'll send him back after I teach him a lesson. Ta ta! "


	2. Hunting

Chapter 2

Hunting

Raphael slept for all of that day and into the next. Every hour or so Leonardo or Donatello would try to wake him. Even Splinter spent a solid hour trying to get Raphael to get up to no avail. Finally as they were finishing their evening practice the next day they heard some movement from the couch.

Michelangelo made it to the couch first as Raphael rolled over, and blinked sleepily at them. "Well look who's returned to the land of the living," Michelangelo said with a grin.

Instantly the others were at his side. "Raph!" Leonardo exclaimed happily.

"Are you okay?" Donatello asked.

Raphael was awake, but something was off about him, something they couldn't put their finger on. "Yeah, yeah I'm fine, Donny. What's up with you guys?"

Leonardo frowned. "Do you have any idea what day it is?" he asked.

Puzzled Raphael said, "Wednesday?"

"It is Friday evening, Raphael," Splinter corrected, sounding relieved that his son was finally awake. "You came back to us early Thursday morning, and have been sleeping since. "

"You've been out cold for the last thirty six hours," Donatello added.

"Thirty six?" Raphael said incredulous. "I...I never sleep like that."

"Tell us about it," Michelangelo pipped up.

"Raph," Leonardo said trying to gain control of the conversation, "Tell us what you remember about the other night."

Still mildly puzzled, Raphael complied. "After I left Casey I went over to that place he showed us, down by the docks. The Foot was there, but I kept out of sight until they started shaking down this old guy. I couldn't let them hurt him."

"That's when The Foot grabbed you?" Donatello asked..

Raphael nodded. "I thought I had it for sure, but then this girl showed up out of nowhere. It was weird, she told them to leave me alone, and they did." He closed his eyes smiling blissfully. "She was something else I'll tell you. She had these blue eyes that just knocked me flat."

"Something knocked him flat, but I don't know if it was a girl," Michelangelo quipped.

Leonardo glared at Michelangelo, but quickly turned his attention back to Raphael. "Okay, then what happened?"

"She brought me here all the way to the warehouse," Raphael said. "I guess she was right when she said I needed some rest."

"She brought you here?" Leonardo echoed. "You told her how to find the lair?"

"No," Raphael answered, shaking his head. "She knew they way all by herself. She knew my name too."

Splinters tail curled into a tight coil then relaxed again, a sure sign that their sensei was unsettled. "How did this young woman know your name, Raphael."

Raphael shrugged. "I don't know, sensei. I asked her, but she said it wasn't important, so I dropped it."

Even Michelangelo was shaking his head in bafflement. "You didn't bother trying to find out how this babe who came out of nowhere knew your name because she said it wasn't important?"

Raphael shook his head in an effort to clear it. "I guess. I know it sounds crazy, but it all made sense when she was saying it."

Splinter sighed sounding slightly frustrated. "Raphael, look at me,"

Obediently Raphael turned his eyes to his sensei. Splinter gazed deeply into his eyes for several seconds then turned away. "Are you sure you feel all right?"

"Yeah, I feel fine," Raphael said. "Why?"

Splinter shook his head. "It matters not. Though I would ask you to stay near the lair for the next few days. That you have slept so long may mean that something else is amiss."

"Okay," Raphael said calmly.

Now Leonardo tensed up. Something was completely off about Raphael, and yet he wasn't sure what. Still Raphael seemed to be fine, so everyone started going about their business again. Silently Leonardo vowed to keep a close eye on Raphael.

The next day at morning practice Raphael's behavior was still off. It was Donatello who finally figured out what was going on.

"And here I come to save the day!" Michelangelo was in rare form this morning. He did nothing without some irksome patter. He and Leonardo were paired against Donatello and Raphael. Michelangelo was talking up a blue streak, and was slowly getting on Leonardo's nerves.

"Float like a butterfly, sting like a turtle! Come on, Raph! Pick up the pace, bro."

Leonardo had just about enough of Mikey's antics already, and he was about to chastize him when while dodging a blow from Donatello, he heard his brother said, "No leave him."

"Huh?" Leonardo spun, and tried to attack on Donatello again, so they could keep whispering.

"Leave Mikey alone. I wanna see how long it takes him to bug Raph," Donatello whispered as he countered Leonardo's blows.

Leonardo wondered what Donatello meant, but a few minutes later he had figured it out. Michelangelo wasn't getting on Raphael's nerves.

This is impossible, He thought as he struck again at Donatello. Donatello was forced back, and Leonardo took the moment to glance over at the two. Michelangelo was certainly egging Raphael on, but Raphael didn't seem to be bothered by it. In fact once or twice he actually smiled at Michelangelo's sally.

THUNK Donatello's bo came down against his shell, which turned Leonardo's attention back to practice, but until Splinter called them off, Leonardo kept one eye on the pair at his left. One glance at Splinter told him that their sensei was watching Raphael as well.

After practice Michelangelo turned on his video monolith. As he was flipping through channels Donatello and Leonardo watched from the lab.

"I hate to tell you Leo, but this is seriously starting to creep me out. All of Mikey's nonsense and Raph didn't snap at him once. What's gotten into him?" Donatello asked uneasily.

Leonardo sighed, and leaned against the wall, trying to watch both Michelangelo, and Raphael at once. "Whatever that girl did to him, I'm almost ready to believe Mikey. It's like he's under a magic spell or something."

Donatello rolled his eyes. "I don't need to hear about magic from both of you. Magic is a scientific impossibility."

"Okay," Leonardo said, "then you explain what's going on with Raph."

At that moment they both realized that Raphael had just simply stopped doing anything. He was staring at the televisions. Mikey was sifting through his DVD's, and the picture of the ocean was on the screen.

Donatello got up from his chair, and stood behind Leonardo who was making no secret of watching Raphael now. "He's totally mesmerized by the ocean." Donatello said.

"Tell me again how this isn't magic, Don," Leonardo said. He desperately needed some reassurance."

"Hypnosis, more likely, but you can't hypnotize someone against their will." Donatello watched as Raphael simply stood and stared at the television."

"Michelangelo! Change that channel!" Splinter suddenly barked. Both Donatello and Leonardo jumped surprised.

Michelangelo gave their sensei a sly grin and said, "Just looking for my Rocky Horror Picture show. Here it is!" He held up the DVD, and slipped it in. Once the scene of the ocean was off the screens Raphael blinked, shook his head out, then went back to what he had been doing.

As if he hadn't done it on purpose Michelangelo said, "What was wrong with that channel anyway, sensei? It was just The Discovery Channel."

Splinter gave Michelangelo a blistering look, but said nothing.

"That's funny," Leonardo said.

"Donatello went back to his work," what is, Leo?"

"Do you think that stunt with the TV was just Mikey's way of testing something about Raph?" Leonardo asked.

"Possibly, why?" Donatello asked.

"I think Splinter suspects something," Leonardo said. "That look he just gave Mikey gave me chills."

"Hmmmmmm. What did Mikey do?"

Leonardo pursed his lips amused. "You know Mikey. It didn't even phase him, but he's got that look in his eye like he was waiting for Splinter to call him on it, but he didn't."

"You want to try calling him on it?"

"No," Leonardo didn't understand what gut instinct told him not to bother, but he listened all the same. "I have a feeling it wouldn't be the same if it was one of us. It's like Splinter knows what Mikey's hiding, but he doesn't want to bring it out into the open."

"Weird," Donatello agreed. "You know now that I think of it, Splinter never really called Mikey on any of his disappearing acts either. He'd punish him, give him extra chores, but he never bothered asking where he had gone."

"You're right," Leonardo said. Then as an after thought, "Speaking about Mikey disappearing, how is that new tracker coming?"

"All ready done, boss," Donatello said proudly. "I slipped a sliver of one of those alien crystals from our adventures in that underground city into the hem on Mikey's bandana. It's unique power signature will be easy enough to track, and the crystal will keep transmitting even if it gets wet. All I have to do is finish the tracker that goes with it. The next time Mikey disappears you'll be able to follow him without a problem."

"Good," Leonardo said feeling more secure. "Because I have a feeling as soon as Raph starts acting normally Mikey is going to be off again."

Very slowly Raphael began to revert to his normal behavior. Leonardo breathed a sigh of relief the first time Raphael snapped at Michelangelo the next day. After another day had passed, Raphael actually took a swing at Michelangelo. Donatello started relaxing believing the worst to be over, but Leonardo knew that the trouble had only just begun.

Four days after Raphael woke up, Michelangelo went missing from the lair.

"It's official," Leonardo said, as the three returned to Splinter after searching the sewers. "Mikey's gone."

"I don't get it," Raphael said scratching his head. "Mikey pulled his last vanishing act less than a month ago. He never does it again so soon."

"I know," Leonardo explained, "but he disappeared for a few hours that night you came back to us. The funny thing was we tracked him to the tip of Battery Park, Where you can see the sunrise on the water."

Raphael didn't get it right away, but Splinter did. "Where the sun touches the sea at dawn. Why did you not tell me this before?"

"We couldn't prove anything, before," Donatello answered. "Besides Mikey sabotaged his own Shell Cell so we couldn't track him that night. I've planted another tracking device on him, so this time we can find out where he's been going all these years."

"That girl you mentioned, knew your name, she also seemed to know where we lived. I'm not sure how, but I think Mikey's vanishing acts are connected to her. If he knows her then she could very well know about us. I'm going to track Mikey, and find out what he's doing, and maybe bring him back for some explanations." Leonardo said, as he accepted the tracking device from Donatello.

"Wait, Blue Eyes involved with Mikey? Where did you get that idea from?" Raphael asked.

"From you," Leonardo insisted. "The fact that she gave you a cryptic message that Mikey understood, and answered by going to the park. He asked you where she was going, as if he knew from your description, who she was."

"No way," Raphael said shaking his head. He moved to follow Leonardo, but Splinter moved to block him.

"You should stay here Raphael," the aged rat said hastily. "You are not fully recovered from this woman's influence. You should not expose yourself any further to her abilities."

Raphael didn't expect that. "Wait you're saying she cast some kind of magic spell on me, or something?"

"I wouldn't call it magic," Donatello explained, "but something odd happened to you, and we're not talking about just the nap."

"For the last few days you've been on some kind of high," Leonardo answered. "You haven't been complaining, griping, or losing your temper all week. Yesterday was the first time you took a swat at Mikey, and he's been trying to push your buttons since that night."

Raphael couldn't believe his ears. "Lemme get this straight, you've been worried about me because I haven't been blowing my stack all week?"

"It's not normal for you, Raph," Donatello said, "Even you know that. Something got under your shell, and we don't know what it is."

Raphael closed his eyes, and leaned against the wall. "Ahhhh who am I kidding, I know you're all right. I knew feeling this good wasn't normal, but I liked that feeling, and every time I think about her a get a little bit of that back."

"Then I would suggest you stop thinking about that woman," Splinter said sternly. "She holds some influence over you."

"No, she...she wouldn't hurt me, she wouldn't hurt any of us," Raphael insisted. Even as the words left his mouth the other could tell he was just as surprised as they that he spoke up.

"How come," Leonardo said sternly getting into his face. "How do you know that?"

Raphael shook his head as hard as he could, trying to clear that. "Leo....I....I don't know why I said that." He lowered his head defeated. "Man, she must have gotten me good. I don't even know what thoughts are mine anymore or what she wanted me to think."

That was enough for Leonardo. "That's does it, your staying behind. Don, I want you to stay too. If she can do this to Raph she might be able to do it to us too. There's no sense both of us getting zapped." He faced Splinter then. In his sensei's eyes there was a worry that Leonardo had to address. "You don't think I should go, do you master?"

Splinter lowered his head and sighed heavily. "No, Leonardo, if you feel you should find your brother, then I shall not stop you, but remember your own words. If she can bedazzle Raphael you also are vulnerable. Take care. "

"I will sensei," Leonardo said firmly, then to Donatello. "I'm going to keep in touch with the Shell Cell. I'll see you all later."

"Be careful, Leo," Donatello said. Leonardo nodded, then left the safety of the sewers for the street above.

Leonardo had to be extra careful. It was just before sun rise, some humans were already up and about on their morning routines. He didn't mind too much, it kept him more alert, and ready for danger. It was a true test of his ninjitsu skills to be invisible by daylight.

Donatello tracker was quiet efficient. Sure enough it was drawing Leonardo back to the Battery Park where he has suspected Michelangelo to have gone before.

Finally as the sun rose, lighting the city around him, Leonardo saw his quarry. Michelangelo was at the very edge of the water by Castle Clinton, and he wasn't alone.

Man, Raph wasn't kidding when he said she was beautiful, He mused to himself. The woman wore simply a halter top and a flowing pastel skirt which blew in the wind showing off her curvaceous legs. For a few seconds Leonardo forgot his mission, and simply starred at the woman taken aback by her loveliness.

Whoah! Get a grip on yourself Leo, he told himself. They don't even know your watching them yet, and already your thinking like Raphael. He shook his head out, and busied himself by talking into his headset. "Don, I found Mike, and I think he's with Raph's mystery woman. Same hair at least. Same knockout body."

"Stay with me Leo," Donatello's voice held a hint of hysteria. "Your starting to sound like Raph."

"I know," He answered back, feeling guilty at once. "The scariest thing about that, Don, is that they haven't even seen me yet."

Of course the moment he said that he saw Michelangelo's head turn in his direction. He tried to hide but the morning light exposed him easily. He saw Michelangelo's face screw up, and a muttered "Awww shell," come from his lips. He turned to his companion, and both of them dove for the water below.

"They've seen me!" Leonardo told Donatello. "They've hit the water!"

Through the Shell Cell he heard Donatello say, "They went swimming in that water? Ewww!"

Then Splinter spoke. "Leonardo, no matter what do not allow them to lead you into the water. There is great danger there!"

" I shouldn't have to," Leonardo said trying to fight the tenseness he was beginning to feel. "They're going to have to surface sooner or later, and then I'll have them."

As the seconds ticked by though, Leonardo grew more and more ancy. "Something's wrong, I don't see them under the water. I'm going in."

"Leo, no!" Donatello said. "Splinter said...."

"Mikey isn't coming up for air!" Leonardo said as he moved to the water's edge. "I have to make sure he's all right!" He closed up the shell cell so as not to damage it, and ignored the ringing as he dove for the waters."

Fortunately the morning sun was peering though the deep algae green waters. Leonardo found that he could see a few feet in front of him. Unfortunately trying to find a green turtle in green water was like trying to find a white fox in a snow storm. He tried to search as deep as he could, but soon his lungs burned for air, and he knew he would have to abandon his search.

No, he thought to himself. I'd rather drown than leave Mikey to die here.

Suddenly he felt arms around his waist, and soft lips next to his ear. "That is very noble of you to do, Leonardo." A sweet feminine voice said. "But Michelangelo is very adapt in the water, and truly does not need your assistance. In fact he asked me to come here to help you, and make sure you were unharmed for your journey home."

Leonardo spun around to be faced with a pair of the bluest eyes he had ever seen. Something within his own soul stirred at the sight, and he couldn't force it to go away. He took in a deep breath, hardly aware that he was still under the water, but air filled his lungs not the river. He was completely frozen fixated on the eyes of this enchanting being.

"Be at peace, Leonardo," She said in her soothing calming voice. "I do not mean to harm you, but we do want to show you why we think we are best left to our own devices, your brother and I."

Still under water Leonardo struggled not to breath, but to think. "You mean Mikey? What, who are you?"

"I'm your friend, Leonardo," she said softly. "I have always been your friend, but we think it important for you to know exactly what I can do."

Leonardo was horribly confused and worried. What was going to happen? As if she could read his thoughts the girl said, "Don't be afraid Leonardo this won't hurt at all. Just breath deeply, and relax." She placed her hand on his chest, and suddenly his mind was filled with bliss.

"Leo! Leo! Come on already pick up!!" Donatello shouted into his shell cell.

"It is too late," Splinter said, sadly. "Leonardo has followed Michelangelo into the water. He is in grate peril, and we cannot save him."

Splinter withdrew from Donatello and Raphael to his own room. Raphael was shocked and angry.

"What does he mean we can't save him! What kind of danger? What did Mikey just get Leo into?" Raphael punched the wall for emphasis.

"I don't know, Raph," Donatello said. "Mikey might be reckless, but he wouldn't put Leo in any real danger. "Suddenly they heard a click as the Shell Cell was answered. "Finally. Leo, tell me what the sh-"

It wasn't Leonardo's, but Michelangelo's voice that came over the Shell Cell. "I'm sorry, but Leonardo can't come to the phone right now. He's busy getting himself caught in a trap of his own making. You guys really should have kept him home. I'll send him back after I teach him a lesson. Ta ta! "

"Mikey?" Donatello said, shocked that Michelangelo was using Leonardo's Shell Cell. "Mikey what the shell is going on? Don't hang up!"

Raphael didn't even need to hear the click to know that Michelangelo had hung up on them.

"That does it," he said sounding angrier by the moment. "As soon as Mikey gets home he's gonna wish he stayed wherever he is!"

Donatello sighed. There was nothing they could do but wait. He sagged down onto his work table, and said, "or he's going to make us wish he had."

Be on the look out for Chapter 3 Leonardo's Encounter

Suddenly a beeping sound turned both turtles attention to Donatello's computer screen. "Something's in the outer tunnels," Donatello said worriedly.

Raphael leaned forward to get a better look. "What could–Hey! It's Leo!"

Now Donatello really sounded worried. "Leo tripped an alarm? No way! He knows where they all are!" Donatello turned on the security cameras.

Sure enough it was Leonardo, but he seemed very distracted or dazed. He wasn't paying attention to where he was going.

"Something's wrong," Raphael said, watching the screen. "He's not even watching where he's going."

"Let's go," Donatello said. He did a flip out of his chair. Raphael followed close behind. They left the lair, and found Leonardo sitting just outside the entrance looking completely and totally defeated..

"Leo?" Raphael called to Leonardo softly. He knelt down next to his brother, but Leonardo didn't even notice them."

Donatello knelt at Leonardo's other side, and snapped his fingers in front of his brother's face. "Come on, Leo, snap out of it."

Leonardo blinked, and came awake. "Huh? Don?" Leonardo turned ,and looked at his surroundings. "I'm home."

"Yeah, your home, Leo," Raphael said. It was unsettling to see Leonardo this distracted. "You're okay now."

"No," Leonardo put his head on his knees sounding completely dejected. "No, I'm not all right. She made me come home." He sighed unhappily. "I...I couldn't fight her."


	3. Leonardo's Encounter

Chapter 3

Leonardo's encounter

"Are you sure you didn't overdo it? Shouldn't he be waking up by now?"

The voices were hard and raspy Leonardo was floating in a half sleep trying to hold on to the remnants of a delightful happy dream. One of the two voices belonged to the dream, though it wasn't part of his dream now. The other voice was harsh and grating, and was waking him up, despite he desire to remain dreaming.

"He is getting there, you don't like to wake up when I sing either."

"Point made, but he's going to be okay when he does right?"

"Aside of your own instincts, yes he will be fine. Though we might have given your brother a bit of a scare. It is not easy to loose oneself even for a little while."

"I know I know, but we aren't going to get him to leave us alone any other way."

Huh? Suddenly Leonardo remembered the dream. A dream in which he wasn't Leonardo, and he wasn't a ninja. He was something else entirely. He simply was. He was still a mutant turtle, but his whole being was simply taken up with a childlike delight in swimming with....

WHAT

It was the last mental image that forced Leonardo into full wakefulness. He sat up quickly wishing he hadn't a second later. The world spun around him. He lay back down and turned to where he had heard the voices. Very slowly he opened his eyes.

There was Michelangelo sitting on a nearby stone looking quite pleased with himself. On another stone near by....

"I don't believe it," he said sitting up slowly this time.

She was still beautiful, the flame red hair, the blue eyes, but instead of a skirt she had a salmon colored tail starting under her belly button, all the way down to the fins on the bottom.

"You.....you're a mermaid!" Leonardo said incredulously.

The mermaid was brushing out her hair with her fingers. She looked back at Leonardo, and again he felt this tug at his heart. Instantly he felt as if he should forgive her. She said nothing but nodded slightly.

Leonardo still didn't understand. "But my master....Splinter always told us -"

"That mermaids weren't real, right bro?" Michelangelo said with a mischievous chuckle. "I think he wanted to forget she was real, but like he always tells us, wishing for something doesn't make it true."

"Mikey?" Leonardo turned and faced his brother. Once the mermaid was out of his sight he could think a little clearer. "You mean this is what you've been hiding from us for all these years."

"Uh huh," Michelangelo said nodding. Then with a glance over to the mermaid. "Okay girlfriend, time to hit the water. Leo and I need to have a turtle to turtle talk."

"Do not be to long, my friend," she said. Again Leonardo was almost mesmerized by her voice alone. "You and I have much to discuss before you return home." Before Leonardo could take another breath, the mermaid slipped off her rock back into the water and was gone."

Leonardo shook his head again, trying to clear it. Did what he dream really happen? "Mikey? What the shell is going on? Who is she?"

"Her name is Lillian," Michelangelo said evenly. "And before you ask me, Leo, no you didn't dream it. For ten full minutes you knew what it was like to just give in totally to your instincts, and not have a thought in your head at all."

"What?" Leonardo asked. He wasn't sure what Michelangelo was saying, but unbidden the memory surfaced. For ten minutes he had not been Leonardo the ninja turtle. He had simply been a mutant turtle who was as innocent as a child. He had been without any memory of who he was, or anything Splinter had taught them.

"What....what did she do to me?" Leonardo asked suddenly frightened. How could he possibly fight something like that when he didn't even understand it? The worst was some tiny part of him had enjoyed that feeling. The weight and responsibility he bore always had been gone, he had been free dependent rather the one that was depended on.

"All she did, was kinda wake up your instincts all the way for a few minutes. It's kinda overwhelming, and you wouldn't have had any room in your head for anything else at all," Michelangelo said. He rose to his feet, and eyed his brother speculatively .

Leonardo was still trying to shake off this feeling that he had been at the mermaid's mercy, and had enjoyed it. "I....I couldn't remember anything. Nothing! Mikey, why-"

"Relax, Leo," Michelangelo hasten to reassure him. "It's just cuz you haven't heard her sing in over eight years. You were so caught up with her, and what she wanted, that you forgot everything else. Don't worry it won't catch you like that again."

Leonardo forced himself to quell his fears. Michelangelo was being so calm about this, he didn't want to seem any less in control. "Mikey, I still don't understand. Why are you here? Why did you keep disappearing? Why didn't you ever tell us about her?"

Michelangelo smiled, and pitched a pebble into the water. "If you want those questions answered, you're going to have to talk to Master Splinter. It's his fault I kept her a secret. As for why I'm here, it's cuz I remember what she did for us, and I know we owe her, more than even Master Splinter knows about." Michelangelo knelt down, and pointed to a storm drain nearby. "Here's your ticket back to the lair. Now go home! I'm perfectly fine with Lilly, we've been doing this for years, and you know I'll be back tomorrow." He tugged at the single pink pearl around his neck. "With this I can breath underwater, they've got more underwater gadgets than Donny does." He got to his feet, and moved to the water. "Don't think about following me either, bro. If your not out of here in five minutes the next head you see popping up will be Lillian's, and when she tells you to go home, you won't have much choice in the matter." With that Michelangelo jumped into the waters at his feet, and in seconds was gone.

Only then did Leonardo have the strength to move. "Mikey no!" He raced to the water's edge, and looked into it. He saw nothing other than the green murkiness of the water below, and the only sounds he heard were the waves lapping at his feet. "Mikey! Mikey! Michelangelo!"

There was no answer aside of the cry of seagulls across the water. Dejected, and still horribly confused Leonardo sat down on the rocks.

"It is all right, Leonardo," a soft voice came from behind him. Turning around he saw the mermaid again. This time though, she had legs, and was wearing the pink pastel skirt she had been wearing before. "Michelangelo will return to you. He will always come back. I wouldn't take any of you from your sensei ever. I wish he understood that."

Leonardo felt the pull again to simply listen to her, and let her take the lead. With a supreme force of will he pulled his eyes away from her, and turned away. "Stop playing with my head," he said. He tried to make it an order, but it came out more like he was begging instead.

The mermaid sighed sadly. "I cannot help what I am, nor can you help what you are, despite your changes. You are a creature of water, and my people are your guardians and sovereigns. I would never harm you, and within the very depth of your being, you know this to be true."

Leonardo tried to keep control of the conversation. "How...how can you have legs like that? Before you...you had a tail."

Lillian smiled gently. "My kind need to be about both land and sea to perform our duties. It is because your brother says he knows this new enemy that he chose to come to me now. I need to speak with him about these Foot warriors." Even though he wasn't facing her she drew closer and again wrapped her arms about his waist, and whispered into his ear. "Leonardo, go home. You do no one good by fretting, and because of Michelangelo's mischievous nature the others are quite worried. I will bring him home on the morrow, and I promise he will give you better answers then."

The others were worried he had to reassure them. She pressed something into his hand, but he didn't pay that much attention. He entered the storm drain, and began his journey home.

"Grrrrrrr" Raphael was getting more and more ancy by the minute. "I don't get it. Why can't we just go out there, and go after Leo? Even Splinter said he was in danger!"

Donatello sighed, and swung around in his chair to face his hot headed brother. "He also said that we can't help him. Don't you remember anything. If that girl is out there with him, she's probably doing to him what she did to you!"

"And what did she do?" Raphael shot back, "She fixed it so I wouldn't lose my temper for a couple of days. I still don't know why the two of you think that was such a bad thing."

Donatello turned back to his computer, and typed as he talked. "Because it was like you weren't yourself. It wasn't normal, and it freaked us all out, even Mikey. He's been going out of his way to drive you crazy the last few days, and you haven't even been noticing."

Raphael sighed. He knew Donatello was right, but still something deep inside of him liked that strange high he got off of being near that girl. Part of him actually wanted to see her again.

No! He shook his head out trying to clear it. Donatello turned in his chair to face him again. "Raph?"

"I'm okay," he said, not sounding very convincing. "I'm just thinking crazy again."

Donatello sighed. "I hope that wears off like the rest does. I can almost tell when your thinking about her. It's like you completely zone out on us for a few seconds, and then you're yourself again."

Suddenly a beeping sound turned both turtles attention to Donatello's computer screen. "Something's in the outer tunnels," Donatello said worriedly.

Raphael leaned forward to get a better look. "What could–Hey! It's Leo!"

Now Donatello really sounded worried. "Leo tripped an alarm? No way! He knows where they all are!" Donatello turned on the security cameras.

Sure enough it was Leonardo, but he seemed very distracted or dazed. He wasn't paying attention to where he was going.

"Something's wrong," Raphael said, watching the screen. "He's not even watching where he's going."

"Let's go," Donatello said. He did a flip out of his chair. Raphael followed close behind. They left the lair, and found Leonardo sitting just outside the entrance looking completely and totally defeated. His shell cell was back in his hands and he was staring at it without really seeing it.

"Leo?" Raphael called to Leonardo softly. He knelt down next to his brother, but Leonardo didn't even notice them."

Donatello knelt at Leonardo's other side, and snapped his fingers in front of his brother's face. "Come on, Leo, snap out of it."

Only then did Leonardo blinked, and woke from his daze. "Huh? Don?" Leonardo turned ,and looked at his surroundings. "I'm home."

"Yeah, your home, Leo," Raphael said. It was unsettling to see Leonardo this distracted. "You're okay now."

"No," Leonardo put his head on his knees sounding completely dejected. "No, I'm not all right. She made me come home." He sighed unhappily. "I...I couldn't fight her."

Donatello didn't like how Leonardo was sounding. "Come on," he said helping Leonardo to his feet. "Lets get you inside then you can tell us all about it."

Leonardo allowed his brothers to lead him into the lair. Donatello sat Leonardo down in his own lab chair, and took up a position behind him. Raphael sat on the floor. "Okay, now, Leo," Donatello said evenly. "Tell us what happened after you went after Mikey in the water."

"I...I couldn't see it was too dark to see more than a few feet in front of me," Leonardo said uneasily.

"You must have found Mikey," Donatello said. "When I tried to call you back on the shell cell, he answered it. He said something about teaching you a lesson for following him."

"Yeah," Leonardo said sourly. "I kinda got the impression from him, that he didn't want me around."

"So come on, Leo. Tell us what happened," Raphael said impatiently.

Leonardo closed his eyes. "I...I can't remember."

"What? What do you mean you can't remember?" Raphael asked.

Leonardo shivered. "I just can't!"

Donatello was getting worried. This wasn't like Leo at all. Nothing, absolutely nothing got to Leonardo, except one thing. "Let's get Splinter," Donatello said. "If anything he can get past what blocking your memory."

"I guess I'll give it a try," Leonardo said uneasily. He moved to the training area while Donatello and Raphael moved to Splinter's privet chamber.

"You really think Splinter can help Leo remember, Don? What if she told him to forget?" Raphael asked his brother

Donatello shook his head. "I don't think she did. I think Leo just can't face what she did do to him, and we need to know why." Gently Donatello knocked on the door. "Sensei? Leo is back, but we've got a little problem."

Splinter came instantly to the training area and spoke gently to Leonardo. "Donatello tells me you cannot remember what happened once you encountered Michelangelo."

"No," Leonardo said sadly. "I remember following him into the water, and then showing up here. Trying to think about what happened in between is starting to make my head hurt, and my stomach turn into knots."

Splinter eyed Leonardo up and down. "The encounter left you with great pain and doubts. Together we shall do our best to remove your pain, and retrieve your memories."

Leonardo didn't looked very convinced, but obediently he nodded. "Yes sensei" he said, and at Splinter's gesturing he took his seat on the floor facing the aged rat.

"Close your eyes, Leonardo," Splinter said. "Breath slowly, evenly. This pain and this tension in your body, release it, let it flow into the air. Hear the beating of your heart and slow it to where it should be."

Leonardo closed his eyes, and began to obey his master. Slowly Donatello and Raphael began to relax as well. Surely Splinter could help Leonardo remember what had happened.

Leonardo grew calmer and calmer under his sensei's soothing voice. The knot in his stomach finally relaxed, and the headache had faded away, as he began to reestablish control over himself. It was almost like meditating, except that his sensei's voice was there guiding him along the paths of his own mind.

"Now tell us Leonardo," Splinter said, "Tell us what happened when you followed Michelangelo into the river."

Automatically, without thinking or feeling, Leonardo heard his own voice answer. "I didn't find Mikey, not at first. He was waiting for me to wake up."

"Why did you need to wake up?" Splinter asked.

Leonardo sighed dreamily. "Mikey's friend...she...she sang for me. It...it was wonderful"

"She sang for you?" Splinter echoed.

"Yes," Leonardo answered. "She...they wanted me to understand. She could have taken us at any time, and it wouldn't have mattered. She...she never wanted to take us from you. She never wanted to frighten or upset you. They...they said you wouldn't have believed Michelangelo. "

For a long time Splinter was quiet then slowly as if repressing his own emotions he asked, "What happened when Michelangelo's friend sang for you."

For a moment the pure unaltered joy of the experience filled him. "It...it was perfect. I didn't have to think anymore, didn't have to worry. She was there, she'd take care of everything. It was was....NO!!!" Suddenly Leonardo snapped himself out of the trance and grabbed his head forcing his will to the surface. "I'm Leonardo! I belong here with my brothers and sensei! No!"

He rose to his feet only to have Raphael and Donatello grab hold of him. "Leo, snap out of it!"

Raphael said.

Simultaneously Donatello said, "It's all right Leo, your home, safe with us."

"Oh man," Leonardo sank back to the floor still shivering from the memory. "What she did...It was like she flipped a switch in my brain and I wasn't me anymore. I couldn't remember anything."

"Remember what?" Raphael asked.

Leonardo shuddered, but he did not turn away from the memory. "You, Don, Splinter, our training, my own name. I couldn't remember anything. It...it was like starting my life over again. I was a blank slate, all I was conscious of was this thrill of being with her. We had the whole ocean to ourselves and all I wanted to do was swim with her, and I enjoyed it." He opened his eyes and looked at his brothers, who were staring at him with compassion, and worry.

"But she did not leave you in such a state," Splinter said as he came closer to put his hand on Leonardo's shoulder.

Leonardo shook his head no...."It...it was only for ten minutes I..I think. Mikey said it was. I don't know how long I was really like that. I came to by the rocks under Battery Park City. Mikey was waiting for me. He told me to go on home, but I didn't, not until she told me to. She said Mikey did something that got you all worried about me."

"Well she didn't lie," Donatello said. Mikey picked up your shell cell once and told us you were caught in a trap of your own making."

"It was that indeed." Splinter said. I should not have allowed you to follow."

Splinter sounded guilty, but a shred of memory made Leonardo turn and face his sensei. "Master Splinter, you knew what was going to happen to me, didn't you?"

"Huh?" Both Donatello and Raphael looked up confused.

Splinter looked slightly wounded at the statement but Leonardo wasn't finished. "Mikey's friend is a mermaid, and you knew about her. You knew she was real but you didn't want her to be, so you told us she was just a myth!"

Now Splinter winced. "Forgive me, my sons, but I feared what would happen if you encountered this creature again. Had she but told me the messages she gave to you now, perhaps I would not have feared her. I did not know the extent of her power over the four of you, but yes. I knew you would not be able to resist her influence if you faced her again."

"A mermaid?" Raphael echoed puzzled. "But I saw her. She had legs just like a human!"

Leonardo nodded understanding Raphael's confusion. "I know so did I, but I also saw her with a tail. It looks like the old legends are true. She was able to entrance me just by singing."

"She didn't sing to me," Raphael said. thoughtfully. "I got zapped by her just by listening to her talk."

"But how can mermaids be real?" Donatello asked.

Leonardo still felt calm and still felt very much himself, but there was a confusion and a longing inside of him that he had to understand. "Master Splinter, you have to tell me. Please, make me understand why you lied to us."

Sounding very tired, their sensei nodded. "I..I will try my son." It was over ten years ago. You were all still quite small, and very able to get yourselves into mischief. Donatello and Michelangelo had gone missing for two hours, and I left you and Raphael in the lair to go hunting them."

Coming soon Chapter 4 Splinter's Encounter

"Something inside of you is telling you we belong with her," Leonardo said sadly. "or at least that we should obey her. I can feel it too. Ever since I laid eyes on her all I've wanted to do is what she wanted."

"It is said that Mermaids hold sway over all males and the creatures of the sea. Even though your original forms were that of fresh water turtles, perhaps some of her power can affect you as well." Splinter said. "That is what I feared the most when I sealed the tunnel."

"Now it all makes sense," Leonardo said sadly. "It's not just a legend. Mikey said something about her opening my instincts up all the way. And she....she said that we couldn't help being what we were, and that her people were our guardians and sovereigns. We're forced by our very natures to obey them."


	4. Splinter's Encounter

Chapter 4

Splinter's Encounter

Some time in 1992

He found Donatello in a far section of the tunnels close to the subway. I was further than they were allowed to go by themselves. Without letting Donatello see him Splinter drew closer and called out to him.

"Donatello!"

Splinter watched as Donatello winced at the sound of his name. "Sensei!"

Splinter strode forward, and looked harshly at the little turtle. "Where have you been? You and your brother know you should not stray so far from the lair. You have been gone for far to long!"

Donatello dutifully hung his head in shame. "I'm sorry, sensei. We were playing hide and seek, and I can't find Mikey."

Splinter frowned at that. "Did you not call for him?"

Donatello nodded. "Uh huh, but he didn't come out." Again he called, "ollie-ollie-oxen free!"

Splinter called as well. "Michelangelo! Michelangelo! It is time to stop playing and come home!"

There was no answer. The only sounds they heard was the dripping of water, the rushing of the underground river nearby, the distant roaring of a subway, and the squeaking of the rats around them.

Splinter didn't like this one bit. "Either your brother is in serious trouble, or he is laying in ambush for us." Knowing Michelangelo it was very possible this was one of his pranks. "I believe it is time we had a lesson in tracking. Where is your base for hide and seek?"

Donatello led Splinter to a set of three sewer valves where Splinter began to track Michelangelo seriously. "Here, Donatello, there are your brothers foot prints. His stride is longer than yours, and he tends to traverse his terrain randomly." Sure enough not only were there foot prints but the occasional hand print from where Michelangelo had performed a flip.

They tracked Michelangelo to the waterfall that lead to the underground river. "He should never have come this way," Splinter said sternly. "This river is too close to the storm drain leading to the upper world."

"That's why I didn't look down this way," Donatello said uneasily, but the tracks didn't lie. This definitely had been the path that Michelangelo had taken.

"Here he touched this ladder," Splinter said again seeing where the dust had been disturbed. He looked up to where a manhole was. "But he did not disturb this manhole cover." Again he called. "Michelangelo!"

"Mikey?" Donatello notice a tunnel close to the rushing river. It was too dark to see inside, so Donatello drew closer. "Mikey? Are you in there?"

"BOO!" Michelangelo poked his head out of the tunnel startling both Splinter and Donatello.

"Michelangelo!" Splinter cried harshly.

Donatello completely off guard and frightened, jumped backwards onto the very ledge of the river. He teetered trying to get his balance, but he slipped, and fell into the rushing waters below.

"Donatello!" Splinter cried out.

Michelangelo, with his head still poking out of the tunnel looked stricken. "Sensei, I didn't mean-"

Splinter didn't waste any words on the prankster. "Michelangelo stay here!" He ordered as he flung himself into the water.

Like most rats Splinter could swim relatively well, but he was no match for the rapid, roaring river. He came up once for air then went back down refusing to give up looking for his son.

Suddenly hands came over him, and threw him up out of the water. He found himself ten feet downstream. Michelangelo who had followed above was instantly at his side.

"Sensei, did you find Donny?"

Before Splinter could finish spitting water, and tell Michelangelo the horrid news a strange female voice said, "Is this your Donny?"

Splinter rose his head and looked. Donatello was before him unconscious on the floor. His head was in the lap of a strange young woman. She had soft turquoise blue eyes, and flaming red hair. She was dressed in a soft silk aqua halter, her lap was covered in soft pink scales, ending in a fin like tail.

Splinter hardly knew what to think, the air was heavy with algae, he knew they were somewhere near the storm drain leading to the ocean, but what was this creature doing here. Motion to his side reminded him that Michelangelo was still with him. He glanced down at the young turtle only to see Michelangelo staring at the mermaid with a strange longing fascination. A sudden thought occurred to Splinter. Did this mermaid desire his young sons?

The mermaid turned her attention to Michelangelo. "Come here little one." She gestured for him to come to her.

A wave a fear overcame Splinter. "Michelangelo, stay by my side," he ordered, but Michelangelo was already advancing towards the creature.

"No!," Splinter cried out. He tried to stop Michelangelo, but the mermaid glanced at him, and he found his own body frozen unable to move. He was forced to watch as the mermaid spoke softly to Michelangelo.

"Is Donny gonna be okay?" Michelangelo asked the mermaid. From his voice, Splinter could tell that he had absolutely no fear of this stranger, no matter what he had taught them about the surface. "I...I didn't mean for him to fall in the water. I was just playing."

"Do not fear, little one. He will be fine," the mermaid said. She gently stroked Donatello's forehead, and he sighed in his sleep contented. "I have to go now."

"You gonna take us with you?" Michelangelo asked. He sounded so hopeful it nearly broke Splinter's heart.

"No, please, do not take my sons from me!" He tried again to move forward. He only wanted to snatch his two turtle children from this being, but her eyes were still on him, and his body would not obey him.

The mermaid looked at Splinter sadly. "No, little one. I do not think your elder would like it if you came home with me. You and your brother should stay here, with him.

"All right," Michelangelo said passively. He was still looking at the mermaid longingly as if he wanted to go with her.

The mermaid kissed Michelangelo once gently on his forehead, then bent down and kissed Donatello. She then offered her hand to Michelangelo, and drew him to his knees, so she could hand Donatello off to him. "Goodby, little turtle child, and remember be more careful then next time you play," she said softly. She leaned over to where the underground river flowed. In the next instant she was gone, with only a splash to indicate that she had been there at all.

The moment she was out of sight Splinter found that he could move again. He moved to where Michelangelo held Donatello, scooped both of them into his own lap, and held them.

"Sensei?" Michelangelo said softly, as he struggled to be more comfortable in Splinter's arms. "Sensei, why are you shaking?"

Splinter suddenly realized that he was frightening Michelangelo. "I am fine, Michelangelo," Splinter said hastily. He tried to get control of his own emotions. "I feared that the mermaid creature would take you from me."

"Is that why she told me to stay?" Michelangelo wondered out loud. He turned back to the water, his little brow furrowed in thought. "But, I wanted to go with her. I belong with her."

"No! Splinter forced Michelangelo to look at him. "You do not belong with her. You do not know her. You belong here with me, and your brothers. Do you understand?"

Michelangelo squeezed up his face frightened. Splinter knew that he had never spoken so harshly to any of them before, but he felt that he had to nip this notion that Michelangelo belonged with the mermaid in the bud now, before Michelangelo was old enough to seek her out.

Even frightened, Michelangelo choose the simplest path. "Okay, sensei," he said weekly.

"We will speak no more of this," Splinter said sternly. He took Donatello from Michelangelo and rose to his feet. "Come, let us go home." He took three steps towards the tunnel leading to the lair then looked back. Michelangelo was still staring at the water, a strange torn expression on his face. "Michelangelo, Come," he called again. With a sigh, the little turtle followed behind Splinter as they made their way home.

"After that I sealed up the tunnel to the underground river. I...I believed that if you had no access to the river you would never see her again." Splinter said sadly. "I feared that if you four encountered her again, you, like Michelangelo, would desire to be with her, and not me."

Leonardo didn't know what to think. He felt torn in two. Part of him knew that Splinter had only done these things to protect them, but yet another part of him was resentful that their beloved sensei had lied to them, and kept them from her.

Now why would I care about something that?

Raphael punched a nearby wall. "Are you telling me you kept us from going to her? To where we belonged?"

Splinter looked up at Raphael stricken. That enabled Leonardo to figure out what was wrong in his mind. He glared at Raphael, and got between his brother and Splinter. "Are you saying you want to be with her? Five days ago you didn't even know she existed. Why would you want to drop everything and follow her?"

He wondered if Raphael was going to blow at him, but the question seemed to take him aback. Raphael suddenly looked confused, and sat down on the step. He brought his hand to his head. "I...I don't know why. It's just that..." Raphael trailed off and shook his head trying to clear it. He turned to Splinter and said, "sensei I didn't mean what I said, it's just that she..." Again he was unable to finish the sentence.

"Something inside of you is telling you we belong with her," Leonardo said sadly. "or at least that we should obey her. I can feel it too. Ever since I laid eyes on her all I've wanted to do is what she wanted."

"It is said that Mermaids hold sway over all males and the creatures of the sea. Even though your original forms were that of fresh water turtles, perhaps some of her power can affect you as well." Splinter said. "That is what I feared the most when I sealed the tunnel."

"Now it all makes sense," Leonardo said sadly. "It's not just a legend. Mikey said something about her opening my instincts up all the way. And she....she said that we couldn't help being what we were, and that her people were our guardians and sovereigns. We're forced by our very natures to obey them."

"That's crazy," Donatello insisted. "We're just not any turtles, we're teenage mutant ninja turtles! We're sentient beings. Are you telling me just because we're aquatic reptiles that a mermaid has complete control over us?"

"It's not just control, Don" Leonardo tried to explain. "She's didn't really do it too me. I did it to myself. Something that I never knew was inside of me, just responds to her. I can't trust my own thoughts anymore, because I can feel these...these instincts just tearing me in two."

"Which is possibly the reason Michelangelo kept her a secret from you," Splinter said. He sighed and looked to the video monolith where normally Michelangelo would be splayed across the sofa watching his favorite show. "His own nature has always had the duality of being sentient and yet still subject to the mermaid's wishes. As long as you three were never exposed to her true power he felt safe enough to trust your judgement."

"A good idea while it lasted," Leonardo said still moody. "Now that Raph and I were both exposed to her, does that mean we can't trust our own thoughts anymore? And what happens to us if the next time it's Don who sees her?"

"That is something we four should try to avoid," Splinter said firmly. "And I am sure Michelangelo will agree with us in that respect."

"We're just going to have to wait for Mikey to come back," Donatello said evenly. "I don't think we can learn anything more about this mermaid unless he tells us."

"And how can we trust him?" Raphael said, folding his arms. "He's kept this from us for ten years, and most likely he's been obeying this mermaid since then."

Splinter frowned at that. "And what does that mean Raphael? Is he not still your brother who fights by your side? " A sad expression crossed their sensei's face. "He knew the mermaid had saved your brother's life. He took on the burden I should have shouldered, and aided her."

"He said we owe her," Leonardo speculated. "Even more than you know, sensei. We have no idea how she's helped us over the past ten years."

"We will have to trust that Michelangelo has our interests in mind, as well as that of the mermaid." Splinter said. "And that he will come home as promised."

"He will," Leonardo said assuredly. "That was one thing they both kept reassuring me about. He'll be home before dawn just like all his other vanishing acts."

"Then we shall wait until the dawn." Splinter looked down at Leonardo. "You are still troubled by this all, Leonardo. I suggest you go meditate, and clear your mind."

Leonardo nodded. "Yes, sensei" he said sounding not very convinced, but he did go up to his room.

Donatello went back to his lab ,and Raphael followed. "I've never seen Leo so shaken up before in his life." Raphael said as he sat on a nearby bench.

Donatello shrugged. "Tell me about it, Raph. In fact you're going to have to. You were exposed to this mermaid too. I don't know what he's feeling inside." He gave a worried glance up to Leonardo's room, and on impulse put on an MP3 he had recently stolen from Mikey. The sound of the roaring surf

Raphael was trying to figure out what the mermaid had done to his own head. "I think she did to me something different. I never forgot who I was or anything. I was more focused on her, and being with her."

"And how do you feel now?" Donatello asked.

Raphael yawned and stretched out on the bench. "Weird," he said evenly. "It's like there's two sets of thoughts in my head now. One is me, kick butt take names later, but there's something else there now. It's like part of me belongs to her, you know what I'm saying? It's bugging the shell out of Leo, but it's not a bad feeling. It's just strange."

Donatello frowned. "I guess she did something else to Leo, something more, but still can you actually say you trust yourself now? "

The ocean sounds were mellowing Raphael as much as Donatello hoped they were calming Leonardo. Raphael closed his eyes lazily. "I don' t know, I mean Leo's right, if she asks I don't think we can help but do what she wants, but I don't think that makes her a bad person. What did she do? She helped me out, and she might have scared Leo, but she didn't really hurt him. I don't think she's our enemy."

"Maybe," Donatello said, "And maybe the half of you that's talking right now is the half that belongs to her."

"Ahhh your probably right, Don." Raphael said. "Pay no attention to the turtle falling asleep behind you." With that Raphael rolled over on his side and fell asleep.

A few minutes later Splinter walked by. "You know the sounds of the ocean will lull them to think of her, and her power over them."

"I know," Donatello said as he went over several mythological web sites, "I didn't know it would still affect Raph, but I thought Leo needed some calming down." He looked at Raphael uncertainly. "Do you think they'll ever fully recover from this?"

"I do not know. It is one of the many questions I have for Michelangelo when he returns.

"Raphael likes it a little," Donatello felt he needed to tell Splinter that. "Whatever the mermaid did had some kind of tranquilizing affect on that temper of his. It brought him down to almost normal levels. He knows it isn't normal, and it is wearing off, but part of him liked it. He doesn't think Mikey's friend means any harm."

"I have thought much on that tonight," Splinter said. "The mermaid might not mean harm, but what she is has an affect on the four of you that even Raphael does not trust completely. I do not advise you to seek her out."

"No worries on that account," Donatello said firmly. "I have no intention of becoming a willing servant of some underwater witch." That seemed to satisfy Splinter who went back to his room. Donatello had plans though, and best to do them now, while Raphael and Leonardo were sleeping. He opened his shell cell and placed a call. "Hello April? Are you busy tonight? I need your help with something."

Coming next: The Capture

The moment April had sprung the trap the room became alive with lights and sirens. Donatello had rigged the security system to go off if April sprung the trap. It was that noise that began to wake them all. 

"I can't leave you!" The mermaid cried out.

The moment Donatello moved to wake April was at his side. "Don! Wake up! I've got Mike, but the mermaid is still free!"

"Huh? What?" Donatello grabbed his bo, and leaped for the one figure moving about in the lair. "Stay where you are!" He ordered, and then looked up to face his opponent.

"No! DON DON'T LOOK!" Michelangelo shouted!

It was too late. Donatello had come face to face with the mermaid. He froze like a statue, staring into the mermaid's face.

"Awwww shell," Michelangelo said dejected.  
The noise was waking the others.

"Donatello," the mermaid said, looking directly at him. "Please, let me go. The others should not see me again."

Donatello stood there frozen a second more. He then dropped his head, and lowered his bo staff. "Go," he whispered."


	5. The Capture

Chapter 5 The Capture

"You've got to be kidding me," April said as she put down her sleeping bag.

"I'm afraid not," Donatello insisted, as he worked on his trap. "Tie this," he told her as he placed two ropes in her now empty hands. As she helped him finish Donatello finished his story. "Sensei feels guilty that he never told us, and he's still afraid that she's going to whistle for us, and we'll just take off. Leo's completely torn in two about it. He doesn't feel like he can trust himself anymore."

"And Raph?" April asked as she tied the last knot. 

Donatello sighed. "When he encountered her she had some kind of calming affect on his temper. He liked it, and he halfway likes her. If she were to show up again, I can't say what he'll do. He might just lose it completely and follow her blindly."

"Then you don't have much of a choice," April said. "You have to find a cure for this."

"A cure?" Donatello shook his head, and sat down dejectedly on the couch. "April, these are our instincts we're talking about. We may be mutants, but we're still turtles, creatures of water. From what I found on the web a mermaid has command of all creatures of water, and that appears to include mutant turtles."

"Is why you called me?" April asked.

Donatello nodded. "Mermaids also have power over human men, but Splinter told us that he felt her power over him when she saved me from the river. According to the web, though, woman are not vulnerable to a mermaid's power, sometimes they can actually counter it, if they have strong feelings for the males involved. If she gets me, we'll need you to keep us level headed. "

April giggled. "That's funny, usually your body guarding me, but now you need me to guard your back."

Donatello shrugged and grinned. "I don't expect to confront the mermaid, and I'm certainly not stupid enough to go looking for her, but somehow Mikey always manages to get back home without any of us, including Splinter waking up. If the mermaid is doing something, you'll be immune to it, and you'll be able to catch him in the act. There's no way this time he can say he doesn't remember where he's been."

Together the surveyed the trap Donatello had built. When he had said they were going to catch Michelangelo in the act he meant it. The net trap was literally going to keep Michelangelo where they could confront him, on his secret disappearances. 

"I got you Don," April said. "If Mike comes home, he's going to get a big surprise."

Once Donatello went to bed, April read. It was her job to stay awake, and wait to see if Michelangelo came home. It was getting close to dawn, and April was beginning to wonder if maybe Michelangelo had decided not to come back.

Suddenly she heard a strange sound coming from the doorway to the lair. It sounded like pan pipes with multiple melodies and voices. It was beautiful, but April felt the hair on the back of her neck stand straight up, and every muscle in her body tensed. 

She moved to Donatello, who had kept her company by sleeping in the lab. "Don, Donny?" She called trying to shake him. "Don, did you hear that?"

Usually with the sole exception of Michelangelo all the turtles were relatively light sleepers. Tonight, however, Donatello's snore's increased in volume, and he batted her hand away without waking.

"Don!" April tried again, but she still had no luck in waking Donatello. She was about to go get Splinter when she heard a pair of voices, and hid where the spring for the trap was hidden.

"But what if The Foot hires more girls? Then you will have a problem."

That was Michelangelo's voice. As promised, he had returned, but he didn't come alone. A female had come with him. April peered from her hiding place. Red hair, as the guys would say fantastic body. Yeah, I'm guessing that's Mikey's mermaid."

The mermaid patted Michelangelo gently on the shell "We will swim though that tunnel when we come to it, my friend. I know you wish to help, but I do not think there is anything you can do for me right now. I will tell my agents your call signal, but protecting them is all you can do right now."

"If that," Michelangelo said dejected. "I'm gonna be in mondo trouble this time. I can't pretend that it's yesterday this time. I'm going to have to tell them everything, and even that isn't going to make them happy."

"I know," the mermaid said sadly, looking up to Leonardo's room. "I sense your brother's heart. He is troubled, and he no longer trusts himself. I have done him ill."

Michelangelo shook his head sternly. "Can it, Lil. That was my call to make, and my disaster. We should have just left Leo at the surface."

Lillian shook her head gently. "That would not have worked either, my friend. He would have allowed himself to drown rather than leave you behind."

Michelangelo sighed. "I guess your right, but I wish I didn't suggest it."

The mermaid looked at Michelangelo quizzically. "I could -" she began, but Michelangelo cut her off.   
"No way, girlfriend. Making Leo forget you would just cause more trouble. I'm going to be grounded as it is. If Leo suddenly forgets how he felt they'd stew me in my own shell."

Come on.... April thought at the pair. Come on what are you waiting for? Go past the TV's for crying out loud.!

"You are right," the mermaid said, "but I do not like causing him distress."

"How is Raph doing?" Michelangelo asked her.

The mermaid closed her eyes. "He also does not know if he can trust himself, but he is not troubled by this. His heart is not balanced, but he seeks it. He wishes to see me again."

"Lil, Raph is the last turtle I want you to see again," Michelangelo said with a chuckle. "You have a way of turning our secret weapon into a mutant pussy cat. He totally chills out."

The mermaid turned, and smiled teasingly at Michelangelo. "And this is a bad thing?"

Michelangelo shrugged, and moved to his couch. "Well not really, but it's just not Raph. He was so mellow it was totally creepy."

The mermaid laughed. "In that case, Michelangelo I shall try not to encounter him again, though I dare say he would probably become use to my presence eventually."

"Maybe, but lets not test that out. As far as I'm concerned the less my bro's see you the better." Michelangelo took her hand in his and raised it to chest level, looking at her directly. "But, you keep in touch, Lil I wanna know if The Foot try to do anything." 

The mermaid took her other hand, and covered his with it. "I will my friend, and I will set my watchers about you." The mermaid made to leave the lair.

No! April thought desperately. I've got to find a way to keep her in! April reached over to Donatello's console, and pushed the leaver that closed the main entrance to the lair.

"What was that?" Michelangelo instantly on alert grabbed his nunchucks.

"I heard nothing Mi-" The mermaid began, but then the doors slid closed blocking her in.

"Someone's awake!" He said. True to his training he began to put his back to the wall. That moved him into position for the trap. April hit the release.

"What the shell?" Michelangelo cried out as he found his body being hoisted up into the air trapped in a large cargo net. He struggled in his prison for a second then said. "Lil! There's someone awake here!!! Hit the escape tube in the pond!"  
The moment April had sprung the trap the room became alive with lights and sirens. Donatello had rigged the security system to go off if April sprung the trap. It was that noise that began to wake them all. 

"I can't leave you!" The mermaid cried out.

The moment Donatello moved to wake April was at his side. "Don! Wake up! I've got Mike, but the mermaid is still free!"

"Huh? What?" Donatello grabbed his bo, and leaped for the one figure moving about in the lair. "Stay where you are!" He ordered, and then looked up to face his opponent.

"No! DON DON'T LOOK!" Michelangelo shouted!

It was too late. Donatello had come face to face with the mermaid. He froze like a statue, staring into the mermaid's face.

"Awwww shell," Michelangelo said dejected.

The noise was waking the others.

"Donatello," the mermaid said, looking directly at him. "Please, let me go. The others should not see me again."

Donatello stood there frozen a second more. He then dropped his head, and lowered his bo staff. "Go," he whispered."

The mermaid smiled, as she ran past him. "Thank you," she said, and dove for the pond.

"No Don!" April cried out. She tried to block the mermaid's path, but Donatello stretched out his bo, and prevented April from coming forward.

"No," he said in an odd voice, as if he were struggling within himself as he spoke. "I...I have to let her go."

Raphael appeared from his room, and yawned. Behind him was Leonardo. "What's going on?" Raphael asked as he stretched.

Leonardo noticed April. "April?"

"Leo! Raph!" April called. "The mermaid was just here, she's taking the emergency exit through the pond." 

Leonardo jumped from the second level to the console. "Don, Which button shuts the emergency door?"

With tears in his eyes Donatello said, "no," and crumbled to the ground. April was at his side instantly with her arms around him.

Instantly Raphael knew what was wrong. "Oh no," he muttered.

Leonardo was still trying to figure out the console. "Come on Donny. Which button?"

Sitting there shivering Donatello said, "She wanted me to let her go, Leo. I.... I couldn't stop myself."

"Leo save it," Raphael said tensing up slightly. "Donny had to let her go. He couldn't help it."

Crossly Leonardo looked up, and asked, "what do you mean he couldn't-" then the realization came to him. "Oh no!"

Still shaking, huddled in April's arms Donatello said, . "I saw her Leo, She asked me to let her go. I...I can feel it now, whatever you two have I've got it too."

"Shhh, Donny" April said soothingly. "It's all right."

Raphael was angry now. "That does it." He turned on Michelangelo in the net, and leaped for it. With a single slash of his sai the net and Michelangelo came tumbling to the ground. As Micheangelo freed himself from the net he backed away. Raphael was advancing towards him ready to pummel.

"Uh oh," Michelangelo muttered then jumped out of the way as Raphael pounced. He tried to jump Michelangelo again, but his temper wasn't letting him focus, and Michelangelo was quiet adept at keeping out of Raphael's way. 

"He's probably wondering right now if maybe we should have caught the mermaid," April said wryly. 

"Raph," Michelangelo said as he tried to avoid the blows of his brother. "If you would just- (swing) "let me- (swing) - explain!

Raphael swung again, and Michelangelo back flipped behind Splinter who had just came from his own rooms.

"What is going on? Raphael!"

Raphael, finding Splinter between him and his target, froze instantly.

"Raphael," Splinter said calmly. "If you pound your brother into the ground, he will not be able to answer any of our questions."  
Raphael growled at Michelangelo who grinned and stuck out his tongue from behind Splinter. A second later he was biting his tongue as Splinter's walking stick came down on top of his head.

"Ow!" 

"You are to go to your room, and stay there until I decide what is to be done with you!" Splinter said harshly.

Michelangelo looked up, and decided that of arguing with his sensei wasn't the best course of action at the time. "Okay," he said meekly, and ran up to his room.

"Can we lock him in forever?" Leonardo wondered as Splinter and Raphael joined Leonardo by April's side. Donatello was finally uncurling from his frozen position on the floor. "Are you back with us, Don?"

"I...I think so," Donatello said uncertainly. "Now I know how you two feel. I wanted to stop her, but.... It's like I was fighting myself."

"That's what I felt like," Leonardo said evenly. "Part of me wants to help her and the other part wants to fight the impulse, but when I do fight it, it feels wrong."

Raphael folded his arms and looked up at Michelangelo's room. "I wonder how Mikey deals with it. If Sensei is right, he's been like this for almost ten years."

"I do not think Michelangelo felt conflicted until tonight when he found himself having to choose between us and his mermaid friend," Splinter said sadly.

"He chose you guys," April said. "He tried to tell Don not to look at her." She lowered her head unhappy. "I shouldn't have tried to wake you."

"I should have stayed awake with you," Donatello said. "If I had been awake I would have thought about it before trying to stop her."

"I couldn't get you up before," April explained. "I heard something that could have been her singing, and then I couldn't wake you up. If mermaids sing like in the old stories, she must have put you all into a deep sleep."

"That must have been their system," Leonardo said thoughtfully. "She'd keep us all asleep so Mikey wouldn't wake us up leaving, or coming in."

Splinter nodded, then looked up at Michelangelo's room. "I think it is time we confronted Michelangelo about his dealings with the mermaid."

Leonardo tensed up slightly. "I agree." They left Donatello with April then climbed the stairs to the second level to face Michelangelo in his room.

Mike was lying on his mattress with his eyes closed, and his MP3 player in his ear. He didn't look very happy. Leonardo suspected he was sulking. 

Leonardo and Raphael flanked Splinter as he came into the room. Michelangelo didn't notice them, or he chose not to, until Splinter lifted the headphones from Michelangelo's ears with his walking stick.

"Hey!" he cried indignantly, then he saw who had done it. "Oh, is this my judge and jury? Do I at least get a last meal before my execution?"

"Don't give me any ideas, Mikey," Raphael said sternly.

Splinter didn't intend for the conversation to deteriorate. "Why did you not tell us of the mermaid before?" Splinter demanded.

Michelangelo didn't turn to face them. Instead he kept his eyes on his ceiling. With a sigh, he said, "I didn't have to tell you, sensei, you knew. You didn't want to admit it, but you knew."

"What about us," Leonardo said.

This time Michelangelo did look at them. A sly grin on his face. "Your kidding, right, Leo? If I breathed the word mermaid around Splinter it got his tail in a knot. There was no way I could have told you guys, and besides you wouldn't have believed me."

"So when she showed herself to Raphael you had to find out why, because you both agreed to keep her secrete." Splinter said. 

Michelangelo nodded. "That's why she left Raph that message for me, and when I found out The Foot were shaking her posse down?" Now he sat up and looked at them directly. "Come on guys, how could I not tell her what I know? Lillian's a mermaid, they protect, people, animals, and things! Powerful magic weapons that were used thousands of years ago. If The Foot got their hands on any of it we're talking major disaster here."

That surprised Leonardo. They protected things? They had magical weapons that they guarded? At least now he was beginning to understand why Michelangelo felt he had to help the mermaids, especially with The Foot now being involved.

"So," Splinter said, "What do you intend to do now, Michelangelo?"

With a sigh Michelangelo answered, "Whatever I have to, sensei. If you guys want me to stick around for a while, so you can ask me more questions, I will, but if Lil needs me, I have to go. "

"Because of Donatello?" Leonardo asked.  
Michelangelo lay back down on his mattress, and nodded. "And you guys. She saved your lives too you know"

"What are you talking about, Mikey?" Raphael asked. "Me and Leo never saw her before this week."

Splinter however was looking at Michelangelo with recognition. "Their illness when they were seven. They did not recover on their own."

"Nope!" Michelangelo said smiling. "It was all Lil, and the reason Don and I never got sick is that when she had her hands on us when we were five she blessed both of us. Nothing that comes out of the water can hurt us now, and before you ask, as soon as she had both Leo and Raph in her hands she blessed them too. So you see," here he rolled over and gave them his famous grin of mischief, "We owe Lil' a whole lot, and I'm willing to pay up, so there really isn't anything for you guys to worry about. I'm sorry about you and Don, Leo, but you guys should have just left well enough alone."

Leonardo sighed, "So what happens to us? Are these feelings we have going to go away eventually?"

Michelangelo lay back down. "Leo, I thought you understood. It can't just go away. It's part of us, part of who we were before we mutated. If you don't see her again, it will fade a little, but it won't ever go away."

Leonardo shifted his weight growing restless and uneasy. Splinter glowered at Michelangelo and asked, "So are you determined to sneak out again without telling us to see her?"

Without getting up Michelangelo turned and looked at them, again a mischievous glint in his eyes. " Are you going to try to stop me?" Before they could answer he said, "If you don't try to stop me, I don't have to sneak out do I? But if you're all going to keep me from going to her when she needs me I'm going to do what I have to."

The three left the room, and found April with Donatello. Donatello was sound asleep, with a set of headphones on. When they came closer April looked slightly guilty. "Don said the sound of the ocean seems to calm you two down, now, so I thought it would work on him."

Splinter nodded, comforted, but it only reminded Leonardo of their current condition. "We're never gonna shake this. She's got us, we're going to be torn in two like this forever."

"Not if Mikey gets his way," Raphael said. "He's been going out of his way to keep us away from her. I don't think he's going to change that just because we know about her now."

"Agreed,." Splinter said with a sigh. "He will still endeavor to keep these two sides of his life separate."

"Should we let him, sensei?" Leonardo asked. "I mean what are we going to do if he tries to see her again."  
"Hmmmm, I must meditate on this," Splinter said. "Keep a close eye on him, but do nothing to create more conflict. The next move, for good or ill, is his."

Coming soon Chapter 6 of Missions and Memories

Donatello and Leonardo ran forward. The pipe that held the river opened out into a waterfall and a set of rapids that cascaded down twelve feet. There was a ledge on the far side where Raphael was standing taking in the breathtaking sight.

"Man! I had no idea this was down here!" Raphael said. Leonardo had to admit to himself that the sight of all that water falling down was quite impressive. Mineral formations had formed on the walls and floors of the area giving the abandon pipe a more natural appearance. 

"The waterfall," Donatello said weekly. Suddenly he started to tremble, and lost hold on his bo staff.

"Woah!" Raphael said, catching the bo before it fell into the water. "Don? Donny, tell us what's wrong."

Donatello backed up until his shell hit the wall. "The waterfall... I...I remember! I fell over the falls!" He closed his eyes, and looked away from the rushing tower of water.


	6. Of Missions and Memories

Chapter 6 Missions and Memories

April spent most of the day trying to comfort Donatello. By the time she left, at four thirty that afternoon, Michelangelo still hadn't appeared out of his room.

Poor guys, she thought as she blinked in the bright sunlight. From the readings she and Donatello had done last night, she knew that traditionally all creatures of water accepted mermaids as their masters. It appeared that despite the mutation that gave them human intelligence, they were all still turtles, and instinctively trusted this mermaid, even though they knew nothing about her.

Mike must have thought he was doing them a favor keeping them out of it, but what are they going to do now? As much as Leonardo didn't want to admit it, Michelangelo was right. If The Foot were after something the mermaid had, and Michelangelo has assured them that his friend was in possession of some powerful items, they had to let him protect her.

Leo knows it, but he doesn't trust his own judgement anymore. He thinks the mermaid has skewed things in his brain. How can I help them think clearly about this?

She got to the door of her new apartment and sighed. The reward from the stolen jewels had been quite enough for her to repair and restore her building and even fix up the shop. There had been nothing about the explosion in the shop, that told the police that this was other than a robbery gone wrong. Because of the Nano monster she had gotten a fat reward check that enabled her to fix everything. Still she couldn't help remembering how she felt when she saw her whole life go up in a fireball, and wondered if the guys weren't feeling a bit of that right now.

"April? April O'Neil?" 

April turned to face the voice, but even before she faced her April knew. Standing before her was the woman that had joined Michelangelo in the lair. No, she's not a woman, she's the mermaid!

"What do you want?" April said, maybe a little harsher than she intended, but she had spent the better part of the day trying to convince the guys that they weren't under this creature's control. 

"I just want to talk to you," The mermaid said softly. "Female to female. I didn't mean to cause such trouble today. I need your help." She looked around. "There is a coffee shop on the next corner, if you do not feel comfortable letting me into your home."

April looked at the mermaid, thought about it for a full minute, then with a sigh she said, "okay."  
The mermaid smiled, and led the way to the coffee shop.

The shop had been there for ages. April had eaten there many times and was well known by everyone. Bill, the host, had given them a booth far away from the other patrons. The place looked as if it were straight out of the fifties. The shiny red booth reminded April of an ice cream parlor her uncle Augie used to take her to when she was very little.

The first thing April noticed is that the mermaid only ordered a sparkling water. "Are you sure you aren't hungry?" April asked as Maggie, one of the waitresses, put the plate containing a spinach pie in front of her. With a mermaid around she wasn't about to order fish. 

"Your kind of food does not interest me," she said with a hint of amusement. "I shall eat when I return to my home."

"Where's that?" April asked. 

The mermaid shook her head. "I cannot tell you, especially with The Foot taking an interest in my temple. Michelangelo knows, but he shall not tell even his brothers. The location of my temple must be kept secrete." 

"I understand," April said. "I guess that is why Mike kept you a secret all these years."

"I never wanted to upset their sensei, or the others," Lillian lowered her head sadly, and sipped her water. "And now I fear that I have caused great dissension among them."

"I see," April toyed with the food on her plate. "Normally I'd tell you to let it all settle down before doing anything, but if you think you're going to have a problem with The Foot..." April dropped her voice slightly. 

Lilian nodded. "I may need Michelangelo's help. I would also like to rely on your help to watch over Michelangelo and his brothers."

"My help?" April asked.

Lillian nodded. "You are a woman. We share much in common, it is this commonality that allows you to be immune to my nature. There are things you understand deep within the core of your being that our male friends would not. It is this combination of femininity, and the deep sea that holds there interest in me. Michelangelo's brothers cannot balance these new instincts with what they already know. You can watch over them, and comfort them in their uncertainty."

"And when they need advice that they won't take from you directly or Mike, they'll trust me." April finished. "I guess I can see your point."

"And you can give them messages for me, that they would not take either." Lillian said. "You need not even tell them how you acquired the information."

April considered this. "I guess it's okay, as long as you don't try to take them away or bewitch them again."

"I never intended too," Lillian answered with a smile.  
April ordered a second cup of coffee. "Can I ask you something?" When Lillian raised an eyebrow April continued. "Mikey doesn't seem to be very bedazzled by you. The others all complain about feeling torn in two, but not Mike. I even caught him contradicting you in the lair, and giving you orders. Why isn't he so under your control, and the others think they are."

Lillian laughed out loud at that. "It is several factors at once, most of which are hard to explain, but no, Michelangelo is not so under my control as the others may think. For starters he is very used to my energies and the energies of my sisters. Like the seals and dolphins, and the great whales he is sentient. The dolphins and whales tell tales of us and it is considered a great honor to serve us, but Michelangelo and his brothers never learned such things. Now Michelangelo knows these things so his instincts are not in combat with his intellect, and yet his inelegance can overcome the instincts when needed."

"So it's his familiarity, and his intelligence that keeps him from blindly obeying you?" April asked.

Lillian nodded, and finished her water. "It is also that Michelangelo, understands what he is, what his instincts are telling him. The others doubt the truth of what they're instincts say. All creatures of water know my kind. They know we are protectors and guardians for them, and their homes. This is why their instincts tell them to aid us in all things."

"Okay, I think I got it now," April said. "Mikey knows what your about, so he trusts his instincts about you, and because he's so used to them, he can actually go beyond them and tell you when he thinks your wrong." 

"Exactly." Lillian looked out at the lowering sun, and said. "I need to go to my home. Given the information on The Foot that Michelangelo has given us, we need to plan more defenses." She rose to her feet, placed her hand into her pocket, and drew out a small pink ceramic looking flute.

"You are my ally now," she said formally. "If you are in great need blow the coral flute, two notes like this, and three like this." She showed April how to manipulate the flute. "If you do this, you will get help in a form you are quite used to." She didn't wait for other questions, she simply slipped out of the coffee shop, and was gone in the blink of an eye.

So now I'm the ally of one person the guys are afraid of, April thought as she stowed the coral flute away in her purse. I must be out of my mind. 

Raphael usually never slept well, or easily. He was usually the last one to bed, the first one awake, and woke a half dozen times during the night, thinking he had heard intruders. This time though, laying in his own privet nook. staring at the ceiling, trying to figure things out, for some reason he ended up dozing off.

He found himself in a very odd dream. He was only seven years old, but instead of being healthy he was cold, his muscles hurt, and his stomach hurt. He was under an electric blanket and other warm bedclothes, but the heat couldn't penetrate his skin to warm him within. 

Michelangelo was at his side. "It's gonna be okay, Raph." He said in his childlike alto. "Help is coming."

He had no idea what Michelangelo was talking about until a strange human looking face stared down at him from above. 

"You... you're a stranger! There's a stranger in the -" He would have finished what he was saying, but she placed two fingers on his lips. Oddly enough that silenced him.

"Hush, Raphael. There is no need to be afraid," she said. She had a wonderful musical voice that captured his attention instantly.

Fear fell off of him like water. He stopped struggling, and looked at her quizzically. "Who are you?"

"She's my friend. She made Leo better before, and now she's going to make you better." Michelangelo said, confidentially

Raphael wasn't sure about this, but he didn't protest when she place a flask to his mouth. 

"These are healing waters from my temple." She told him as he drank. "They will make you strong and healthy."

The water was warm compare to his body temperature, and it left a warm feeling in his stomach that was drawing the hurt out of his arms and legs. 

"The healing works best if you rest little warrior," she said with a smile. She leaned down and placed a gentle kiss upon his forehead.." 

Her kiss was so soothing and comforting, Raphael just closed his eyes, and let the dreams take him where they wanted him to go. He knew, without understanding how, that when he woke he would be well.

Mikey's friend had healed him.

Mikey's friend....

Was the mermaid

The realization was so shocking it actually woke Raphael from the dream. "Huh? He called out sitting up quickly. A wave of dizziness came over him so he lay back down, waiting for his vision to clear. Then slowly he got to his feet, and considered what he had dreamed.  
That was the same girl from the docks. Okay so she's the mermaid, but that means Mikey was leveling with us when he told us she healed us, but Splinter kinda told us that was true. Why would I think of that now? After all these years?

As much as the idea didn't appeal to him, he decided to tell Leonardo about the dream. Maybe he could figure it out. Raphael left his room, and went immediately to the room on his right. 

Leonardo's room was so immaculate it was unnatural. Leonardo was there, sitting upon his meditation pallet deep in concentration. 

Raphael leaned against the doorway. "Uh Leo I don't wanna bug you but- Leo?"

Leonardo hadn't heard him come in. He didn't even move when Raphael spoke.

"Leo?" Raphael said again, and drew closer, but he didn't touch him. Leonardo during his meditation had somehow gotten himself into a deeper trance than he intended.

"Okay, this is new," Raphael said to himself. Splinter had dropped into deep trances like this, but never one of them. Mikey had the strange habit of having the odd premonition or so in his sleep, but he never actually meditated to get one. This was not something normal for Leonardo at all.

Even so, Splinter had given them rules how do deal with him when he dropped into a unplanned trance, and the basic rule was, do nothing. As long as he seemed okay they were to leave him alone. Only if he began to act as if the visions were a nightmare did they have permission to try to wake him. 

Okay then same rules apply Raphael thought to himself. He did a casual back flip into Leonardo's bed, and decided to wait. 

He didn't have to wait long. He had almost dozed off again, when suddenly Leonardo's body jerked, and his eyes flew open. "Huh?" He said to the room around him, he then relaxed, placed a hand to his forehead, and closed his eyes. 

Raphael opened his eyes, and rolled over onto his side. "You back with us, Leo?" He asked resting his head in his hand, and propping himself on his elbow.

Leonardo took a few more deep breaths. "Raph? What are you doing here? What...what happened?"

Raphael couldn't help but tease. "You tell me, bro, I came in here to ask you something, but you had your 'out of body be back later' sign out. I figured you might want someone to keep the rest of you company while you were gone."

"Out of-"Leonardo paused, and tried to think for a moment. "I...I had a vision," he said finally.

"Lemme guess," Raphael said. "We were seven again, you were sick, and Mikey's finny girlfriend showed up, and gave you something to drink that made you feel better."

Leonardo now blinked, and looked at Raphael directly. "How did you know?" He asked.

Raphael sighed, he was starting to worry, and that made him ancy. He shifted his position on the bed until he was facing Leonardo eye to eye. "Because I was half asleep in my room, and I almost had the same exact dream. Only it was me sick that time."

Leonardo thought about that. "There was a month between my illness and yours." He said speculatively. " Both events may have happened."

"But why are we dreaming about it now, at the same exact time?" Raphael asked. "Do you think Mikey's friend is making us remember?"

Leonardo rose to his feet. "Maybe, or maybe you and I are just both stewing along the same lines of thought."

That idea actually got Raphael to relax. "Maybe," he agreed reluctantly. "Maybe we should go ask Master Splinter?"

Leonardo turned to face his brother, and smiled. "That's the first good idea you've had all night." Together they jumped down to the lower level of the lair, and moved slowly over to their sense's door.

From the back corner of the room they could hear Donatello on the phone, while his fingers clicked away at the keyboard.

"Hang on April," Donatello said, and then before Leonardo could knock on Splinter's door, said, "I wouldn't go in there if I were you two. Splinter said he didn't want to be disturbed."

Raphael sighed angrily. He glared at Leonardo. "Ahhh both of you. You drive me nuts!"

Leonardo couldn't help the grin at that. None of the others meditated unless made to by Splinter, and he would get just as annoyed as Splinter did when he was disturbed. 

Donatello had already gone back to the conversation. He had the shell cell cradled between his chin and his shoulder while he typed out the information. "Informative," he said, " but I don't know if any of us are willing to make the experiment. Thanks for telling us though. Night."

Since their way to Splinter was blocked Leonardo moved over to where Donatello was working. "What was that all about." 

"Guess who paid April a visit," Donatello answered. "Mikey's mermaid."

"What?" Now even Raphael was paying attention.

"April said basically Lillian asked her to keep an eye on us, make sure we were all right, and she apologized for the trouble she's been causing. "

"I knew it!" Raphael said clenching his fists. "She's the reason you and I were having those weird dreams."

"That would be a good trick," Donatello said. "According to April the mermaid told her she was heading out to wherever her temple was. She's pretty worried about The Foot." Then he turned to face them and asked, "What dreams?"

"Raph and I both had visions of Mickey's friend coming to us when we were sick," Leonardo explained. "You remember, when we were seven. When that sewage treatment plant backed up."

Raphael nodded. "Mikey said she healed us, but now we remember it happening. She somehow got into the lair, and gave us something to drink. Called it healing waters. Mikey was positive it would make us better."

Leonardo frowned at that. "That's not what happened in my vision. Mikey was as surprised to see her as I was. When he asked where she came from she told him that somehow he called her. He wished for me to get better, and she heard him, but he wasn't afraid of her, and he wouldn't get Splinter when I told him to."

Donatello placed his chin on his curled up fist. "This actually makes sense," he said. "You were sick first, right?" When Leonardo nodded, Donatello said, "So if he unaware that he had wished for her, he would be surprised to see her, but the next month when Raph was sick he would have been confidant she would come again."

"So they really are our memories," Raphael said thoughtfully. "What about you, Don. You remember anything about her."

"I was unconscious when she pulled me from the water, and it was two years earlier." Donatello reminded him. "I probably don't have any real memories from then. Even if I do, I'd probably dream about it same as you guys, and I haven't gone to bed yet."

"What are you doing?" Leonardo asked.

"I'm working on putting some microphones in the tunnels around the lair. April said that she heard something that could have been the mermaid singing before she and Mikey walked in."

"And you want recordings of that?" Raphael asked. "Don, it put us all to sleep!"

"I know," Donatello said, "But this way I can analyze the sound waves, and possibly find a way for us not to hear her"

"Are you going to find a way for us not to see her either?" Leonardo asked. "Because according to April all you had to do was see her for her to stop you in your tracks."  
"One thing at a time," Donatello said. "Now I have to find somewhere to put them that will pick up the mermaid singing."

Raphael snatched one of the microphones off the table, and smiled. "I know just the place, and it might jog your memory too, Donny."

"Where?" Donatello asked.

"This is a bad idea, Raph" Leonardo said loudly over the rushing water. "We're not supposed to be near the river at all."

Raphael finished breaking the last board that sealed the tunnel to the river."Because of her," he said with a shrug. "And April said she cleared out, headed for open waters. She won't be here now. 

"I still don't like it," Leonardo said. Even so he climbed in after Raphael, then reached out to take Donatello's bag from him.

"I have to agree with Raph on this," Donatello said speculatively, as he climbed through. "Most likely Mikey's friend gets in and out of the sewers through the river. This would be the best place to put a few microphones."

"I guess," Leonardo said. "But I'm still edgy about being here.

"Leo's edgy about something," Raphael whispered to Donatello, "but I don't' think its about being near the river."

"Leave it alone," Donatello answered as he hooked up the microphones to the wall. "He doesn't like thinking about her."

"I know," Raphael said, "but he's got to get a handle on it, or else he's gonna start losing it." He noticed a pipe jutting out near the water. Experimentally he tapped on it with his sai. The hollow echoing ring that came from the pipe made both Donatello and Leonardo jump.

"Raph!!" Leonardo said annoyed.

Donatello was also peeved. "Raph, would you try to remember that the last time I was down here I almost drowned!"

"Sorry," Raph said sheepishly. Suddenly he turned and said, "Hey guys, listen."

"What?" Donatello asked, still a little miffed.   
"Shhh," Leonardo hushed Donatello. "I hear it too."

Donatello paused and listened. There was the sound of water falling.

"Lets take a look," Raphael said. Before the others could stop him he moved forward.

"Raph!" Leonardo called. "Wait for us! Slow down!"

From up ahead they could hear Raphael shout out excited. "Wow! Guys you got to see this!"

Donatello and Leonardo ran forward. The pipe that held the river opened out into a waterfall and a set of rapids that cascaded down twelve feet. There was a ledge on the far side where Raphael was standing taking in the breathtaking sight.

"Man! I had no idea this was down here!" Raphael said. Leonardo had to admit to himself that the sight of all that water falling down was quite impressive. Mineral formations had formed on the walls and floors of the area giving the abandon pipe a more natural appearance. 

"The waterfall," Donatello said weekly. Suddenly he started to tremble, and lost hold on his bo staff.

"Woah!" Raphael said, catching the bo before it fell into the water, and jumped back across to join his brothers. "Don? Donny, tell us what's wrong."

Donatello backed up until his shell hit the wall. "The waterfall... I...I remember! I fell over the falls!" He closed his eyes, and looked away from the rushing tower of water.

"You fell over them?" Leonardo asked. He looked at the sharp jagged rocks that made up the rapids. 

"No way," Raphael said, echoing Leonardo's thoughts. "There's no way you would have survived that at that age."

"No...."Donatello said gaining some composure. "She...she caught me before I hit the rocks. She was swimming up the waterfall."

"Up the waterfall?" Raphael said.

Leonardo moved to hold on to Donatello's shoulders. "Salmon swim up waterfalls, why not mermaids?" He said. Then turning back to Donatello he asked, "Can you remember anything else?"

Donatello suddenly grew very quiet. A small smile began to form. "Once she had me it...I wasn't scared anymore. I felt....safe." He opened his eyes, and looked directly at Leonardo. "I...I didn't pass out, like Splinter thought. I was just so comfortable, I just fell asleep."

"I think you swallowed a little too much water that day braniac," Raphael said shaking his head.  
"No," Leonardo said, his voice suddenly growing cold. "That's how I felt when Mikey's friend ambushed me under the water. I forgot everything else except how wonderful it felt to be with her. Then she sang to me and I forgot everything. The next thing I knew I was waking up on the beach, and Mikey was there. " Suddenly he went back to his sterner voice. "Come on. Lets get out of here."

Coming next Chapter 7 A Learning Curve

The Foot were down there, in force, and not just any Foot either. Raphael began mentally counting the number of Foot Tech Ninja he saw. Man, there's over fifty of them. What are they doing here?

It didn't look too illegal for a change. It looked more like a training session, as if they were preparing to do something big later. Raphael took a glance over where he saw Michelangelo. A pair of seagulls had taken up roost with him. Michelangelo had turned his attention away from the scene below, and was staring at the birds again. He pointed, and the two gulls flew off to take positions closer to The Foot below.

I'm seeing it but I ain't believing it! The gulls are doing what he says! The two birds were now quiet close. Closer than even Leonardo could have gotten. Curious he started to pay attention to the training below. Suddenly someone grabbed him from behind. Before he could react Michelangelo had him pinned him to a support beam.


	7. A Learning Curve

Chapter 7 A Learning Curve

When they got back to the lair they found Splinter on the couch with Michelangelo. They were both deep conversation, but the atmosphere in the room told all three of them that Michelangelo had been tactfully forgiven.

"You would love Benten sense, she's like you in a lot of ways. She totally digs the way you do things. She still thinks of me as a kid, but Tara thinks I'm funny. "

"So there are far more mermaids than just your friend Lillian?" Splinter asked. He sounded as if he were enjoying the conversation. 

"For sure, sensei. Protecting the ocean is a big job. They just take care of the Northeast seashore, and they've got another temple even farther north. I think that's where Lillian is from. They asked me to go once, but I told them the cold wasn't my scene."

"But you have been to the temple they guard here." Splinter said.

Michelangelo nodded, but his smile dropped. "Those were most of my all day trips, but please master, don't ask me where it is. I swore to them I'd never tell anyone. "

"Then I shall not ask." Splinter assured him. "Surely it cannot be far away, if you and your friend can swim there and back within a day. I will not ask you to break your word to them."

Michelangelo sighed relieved. "Thanks, sensei. That makes me feel tons better." Suddenly a quizzical expression crossed his face. "Am I still like grounded?"

Splinter sighed. "I would prefer you stay where I can see you for a few days, Michelangelo." Splinter said. "It would make me feel better anyway."

"Okay, sensei," Michelangelo said, his good mood returned quickly. "Just remember what I said about Lil. If she yodels for me, or if I get a call signal, they're depending on me. I've got to go."

Splinter nodded. "That I can understand. You must keep the vows you made to your mermaid friends."

Michelangelo smiled, and relaxed. "Thanks sensei. That means a lot to me." Just then he looked up at the three coming in. "Well look who's back."

Leonardo winced. He knew that tone from Michelangelo. He was annoyed they had chosen to leave him behind. Leonardo knew that Michelangelo wanted to talk to him, and try to make them understand, but that little twinge of fear wouldn't let the three of them cross the line that the mermaid had drawn between them and their brother.

"Um we were..."Donatello began, but Michelangelo interrupted him.   
"I know exactly where you were," Michelangelo said with a sly grin. "You were installing some kind of surveillance gizmo by the river. You even put one by the waterfall."

All three of them blinked and stared at him. "How..."Donatello began."

"Michelangelo just grinned at them, and flipped off the couch and headed for his room. "Wouldn't you like to know," he answered. Before any of them could say anything else he closed the curtain to his room. 

Now that wasn't like Michelangelo at all. He never ever closed off his room to them. Then again they wouldn't dare try wading their way through his room. Raphael thought it was worse than Splinter's obstacle course. Still the message was obvious.

"Guys, I think we blew that one." Raphael said.

"I don't get it," Donatello said looking up at the room confused. "How did he know were we went? We didn't tell him."

"Why don't you ask him," Splinter said. They all knew that look. Splinter wasn't exactly happy with them.

"You were talking to him about the mermaid, weren't you sense," Leonardo said. 

"You left without a word to him," Splinter said. He didn't say anything else, he didn't have too.

Always the intermediary for his brothers Leonardo sighed and stepped forward. "All we were doing was setting up some microphones there. Donatello wanted to learn more about the mermaids, and why we're hypnotized by them."

Splinter eyed the three with an amused curiosity. "And you did not think your brother would tell you what he knows about the mermaids?"

Leonardo knew that Splinter was trying to teach them something, and they were being thick about it. What could he say now that would not earn him a rebuke?

Donatello came to his rescue. "Frankly sensei I don't think Mikey can tell me much about the oscillation and frequency of a mermaids singing voice. Once I get a good recording I can study the wave patterns without actually listening to them."

Splinter sighed. Donatello's scientific curiosity had bested Splinter's lesson on trust. . "I just want you to be careful," their sensei amended. "I nearly lost you to that river once Donatello, I do not wish to risk losing you again." 

Donatello shook his head a firm no. No argument there sense. I..." His voice took on an odd dreamy quality. "I remember the accident at the falls."

"We've all started remembering, sense," Leonardo said uneasily. "Raph and I had dreams about the mermaid coming to heal us when we're seven." 

Splinter nodded. "You have seen her again after many years. The memories you had as children are being reawaken. Your minds are seeking what you already know."

"I don't think we know all that much." Donatello said . "I mean we only saw her once and she didn't stick around."

"And yet you still seek answers," Splinter said to them. "Perhaps you should ask someone with answers." He didn't even have to look up to the second level for all of them to know he meant Michelangelo.

Even so the three still didn't feel comfortable approaching Michelangelo with any questions. Leonardo was still unsettled by all the feelings he was having. Raphael had never asked Michelangelo for anything, so it was hard for him to think about it. Donatello figured he had too many questions he was sure that Michelangelo either would not or could not answer. 

Later that night Donatello found one of the microphones by the river was not functioning. He decided to go alone and just repair it. He went back to the entrance of the tunnel. Even there before entering he could hear the water below. For a second he paused the memory of being immersed in water and pulled along flew into his mind. 

Get a grip on yourself Don, he told himself. He swallowed once, and then went in. The repair was pretty routine. It was when he left the tunnel that things got odd. He was climbing out of the hole they had made in the previously sealed tunnel when a voice came out of the darkness.

"Do me a favor Don," Michelangelo said suddenly from behind him. "Next time you go down there take Leo or Raph with you. Call me paranoid but I don't like the idea of you going down there alone, when the last time you nearly drowned."

Donatello took a minute to start breathing again. "Mikey! You nearly scared me half to death! How did you know I was down here anyway? I didn't tell anyone where I was going."

"I know," Michelangelo said. "They told me," he pointed with his thumb to a pair of rats who chittered then scampered away.

"You're talking to rats? Okay that does it I'm telling Leo we'd better start paying you some attention. You're losing it." Donatello said with a grin. 

"See, that's why I never told you guys stuff. I knew you'd never believe me." Michelangelo said with a sigh. Donatello knew the tone. Michelangelo's feelings had been hurt, not just now but by their neglect.  
"Look I'm sorry, but you've gotta admit it's a little far fetched." Donatello said trying to make up. 

Michelangelo eyed Donatello speculatively . "Lillian taught me. She uses them for watchers. They've been spying for her down here since we were little kids."

Donatello couldn't help but smile. "Sorry Mikey but they don't look aquatic to me."

"Humph," Michelangelo snorted. "Shows what you know, Einstein. Lillian said that rats have been sailing on ships as long as humans. They know the language of the ocean as well as any shorebird. Though it's kinda like a guy who knows Spanish and a guy who knows Russian trying to talk to each other in English."

Donatello wasn't sure what to make out of that. "You're totally serious about this. You can actually talk to animals."

Michelangelo smiled now that he had Donatello's interest "Just the ones that talk to mermaids, but yeah. I can show you."

Donatello suddenly understood Michelangelo's reasons for bringing it up. Raphael and Leonardo would have been totally creeped out by the idea that Michelangelo had learned some mystic abilities from the mermaid, but he was always more interested in how something worked and never worried about their implication. "You're on, Mikey, this I have to see."

Michelangelo led Donatello to the roof where he took in a deep breath. "Okay," he said as he faced south. "I'm not as good as it as Lil, so it's gonna take me a minute."

Donatello sat on the heating vent of the roof as he watched Michelangelo. He wasn't sure what was supposed to happen. Michelangelo almost looked like he had zoned out. He was staring to the south with an intense concentration. 

Suddenly Donatello heard a cawing above. Three seagulls flew down to their roof. Michelangelo followed their movements. Two of the gulls landed on the edge of the roof. The third came in for a landing right on Michelangelo's outstretched arm.

Donatello was shocked. "Hey dudes," Michelangelo said softly. For a long moment he locked eyes with the bird on his arm. Then with a glance behind him he said, "You didn't tell me that Lil went to visit April."

"They told you that?" Donatello said amazed. 

Michelangelo nodded once, then turned his attention back to the gull. Donatello wondered exactly what was going on, when suddenly he felt it. A small charge of energy moving between Michelangelo and the bird on his arm.

It's like a telepathy, Donatello thought to himself. He closed his eyes and could almost sense the images and information passing between the two of them.

"Yeah, I know that dude," Michelangelo suddenly said to the gull. "Watch out for him though, he'd pull your wings off just to get his jollies, and he's strong enough too." There was another pause, then Michelangelo said, "You do that dude, and keep an eye for those humans in black. I wanna know if they're by the water at all."

The gull squawked twice, and looked for all the world as if it were nodding. Then with a flick of his arm Michelangelo launched the bird into the air. The two other sea gulls joined it crying out as they flew away. 

Donatello was still watching speechless as Michelangelo turned around and bowed. "And that is the Michelangelo bird show!" 

"Wow," Donatello said slowly. He was really impressed. As they went back downstairs Donatello couldn't help but ask. "So how did you learn to do that?"

"Lillian taught me," Michelangelo said simply. "It's kinda hard to explain how I do it. I have to get my head into some place she found in me."

Donatello thought he understood. "That same place in our heads she woke up when we saw her?" He asked.

"I guess," Michelangelo said as he entered the elevator. "I'm so used to Lil now I don't even notice that buzz, but it's the same place yeah. You have to feel it inside of you to make a connection." When Michelangelo saw Donatello looking at him confused he said. "Well it make sense when she says it." 

"I'm sure it does." Donatello said with a smile. 

After that Donatello decided that the mermaid couldn't be all that bad. Michelangelo couldn't stop telling him how much fun he always had with her. He also paid more attention to the rats around the lair. Donatello wasn't sure if the rats behavior was random, or were they actually watching the four of them for the mermaid..

It was two days later that he realized how useful Michelangelo's talent was. Raphael was helping him with the battle shell when suddenly a crowd of seagulls began to caw loudly right outside the warehouse. It was annoying Raphael. 

"I swear, Don, the moment I can put this thing down. I'm gonna go up there and pluck those garbage eating turkeys."

Donatello tried to keep from smiling. "Mikey might take exception to that Raph. They are sea birds. He told me they act as messengers and spies for his friend Lillian." He finished his last adjustment. "Okay, put the engine down, gently."

With much grunting Raphael used the crane to settled the engine into place. "There. Now I"m gonna shut down those flying garbage cans." He was about to move away, but Donatello held him back. 

"Hang on Raph," Donatello said. He pulled out his shell cell and hit the speed dial. "I've got a suspicion." The pone rang twice then he heard Michelangelo's voice say, "Talk to me,"

"Mikey?" Donatello said. "We've got about a dozen seagulls on the roof of the warehouse making enough noise to wake the dead. I'm beginning to think you're being paged."

"Hmmmm, "Michelangelo said over the phone. "Maybe, I'll go check it out. Thanks Don."

"No problem." He hung up the shell cell and tucked it back into his belt. Then he noticed that Raphael had drawn closer. 

"What was that all about?" Raphael asked. "What do you mean he's being paged."

Donatello grinned as he picked up his screwdriver. "I told you, the sea gulls are spies for Mikey's mermaid. If you don't believe me go up to the roof, you'll see something you'd never believe in a million years."

Raphael was curious despite his annoyance. Since Donatello didn't need him anymore he decided to find out what Michelangelo was doing on the roof. He was halfway up the stairs when he noticed that the racket from the seagulls had just stopped. It was almost too quiet now. When Raphael reached the roof he couldn't believe his eyes. 

Michelangelo was seated in the center of a circle of sea gulls every one of them were staring right at Michelangelo. Michelangelo had an odd look of concentration on his face starting at one particular gull. 

"Dude that is not good news," he told the gull with a sigh. "That is way to close to the water for comfort. Lil and the others they're still out at the temple, right?"

The seagull chittered., and Michelangelo sighed. He pulled out his shell cell, and called Donatello. "Don? There's something majorly uncool going on down by East River Park. I'm gonna check it solo, but if you don't hear from me in two hours come looking for me.....Yeah I'm sure. I'm not gonna do anything but look. Thanks dude, laters."

Hmmmm, okay Donny is letting him go solo, not like him, unless he knows why Mikey doesn't want company. Well that wasn't going to stop him. The seagulls began to take off, and Michelangelo rose to his feet. He pulled a bagel out of his belt and tossed it to one of the gulls. "Thanks for the info dudes. Try to get the message to Lil and Benten, okay?"   
The gull caught the bagel and chittered again. As the last gull flew off Michelangelo looked over towards Brooklyn and took a running leap to the next roof. 

Raphael sighed. "Well if I'm gonna keep up with Mikey I'd better get going." Though Michelangelo had the reputation of being the laziest of the four of them, when he had his mind set on something he could be hard to keep up with." He ran after Michelangelo, making a special effort to be quiet so as not to be caught. 

Michelangelo didn't stop until he reached the East River park. Raphael gave him points for stealth. Michelangelo had taken up a position under the FDR Drive, so he could move easily up and down the whole edge of the East River, but it was the gathering in the park that had his full attention. 

The Foot were down there, in force, and not just any Foot either. Raphael began mentally counting the number of Foot Tech Ninja he saw. Man, there's over fifty of them. What are they doing here?

It didn't look too illegal for a change. It looked more like a training session, as if they were preparing to do something big later. Raphael took a glance over where he saw Michelangelo. A pair of seagulls had taken up roost with him. Michelangelo had turned his attention away from the scene below, and was staring at the birds again. He pointed, and the two gulls flew off to take positions closer to The Foot below.

I'm seeing it but I ain't believing it! The gulls are doing what he says! The two birds were now quiet close. Closer than even Leonardo could have gotten. Curious he started to pay attention to the training below. Suddenly someone grabbed him from behind. Before he could react Michelangelo had him pinned him to a support beam.

"Raph?" Michelangelo said, surprised. Then he sighed, and let Raphael go. "Geeze what part of I wanna go alone, doesn't Don understand?"

"He didn't exactly send me after you," Raphael said. "He said I'd see something interesting if I went to the roof. I don't know what you were thinking coming out here on your own."

Michelangelo sighed. "I was thinking that if one of Lil's posse was topside it wouldn't be good for you to see her."

Okay so he's kinda thinking. Raphael admitted. Still he was slightly annoyed that Michelangelo didn't quite trust him. "Look I'm not Leo. Your girlfriend doesn't scare me, okay?"

Michelangelo shrugged. "Doesn't matter anyway. There's no sign of Lillian, or any of the others." His attention turned back to the training Foot.

"You mean there are more than just her?" Raphael asked.  
"Well sure, there about a dozen of them that live around here. They're supposed to protect the seas around here." Michelangelo explained. "But they're not equipped to handle Foot Tech Ninjas."

"Oh really?" Raphael said skeptically. "Won't their hocus pocus work on these guys? It worked before."

Michelangelo sighed slightly pensive. Not a normal mood for Michelangelo. "Dude you'd better get some glasses. Look at them. Their girls! Every one of them is a girl! A mermaid's powers don't work on females. Lillian's tried to explain it to me, but it just goes over my head."

"Hmmmmmm," Raphael looked down where Hun was exercising the warriors. Sure enough every ninja down there was female. Why all girls? Then something occurred to him. "When I ran into Lillian uptown, Hun was shaking down this old guy about temple. You think the Foot are gonna try to find where your friends are living?"

"It would be a good trick," Michelangelo said. "You have to be able to breath underwater to reach their pad, but still, what if the Shredder is planning to raid their temple? They have some major heavy duty weapons down there that they're guarding."

"In that case the Shredder might very well be planning to raid your friends' home." Raphael said. None of them had forgotten the sword of Tengu. Suddenly a woman dressed in purple moved forward. "Hey Mikey, check her out." Together they watched.

Hun was only partially satisfied with the progress the new female squadron of Foot Tech Amazons were showing. This was one reason there were so few females in The Foot to start with. Most females were inferior to male fighters.

"They are inferior because you expect them to be." A voice sounded behind him. Hun frowned. It was that assistant to the Master's lady friend. The young raven haired woman strode forward as if these were her warriors and not his. "If you treated them as you do your male Foot, they would have no problem. "

Hun glowered over her. "If I did as you suggested, you would find that they would become easily damaged." He said with an intimidating sly grin."

"You underestimate my gender, fool," she said casually as if it were unimportant. "I can defeat any man. So will any woman I send into battle."

"Impossible," Hun said. He would have said more, but the girl clapped her hands calling for silence among the fighters. "You must work harder," she told the girls. "The old saying is true. You must work twice as hard to be half as good. You must be better than the Shredder's Foot, if you wish to defeat those that these men cannot, and you can!" She turned to Hun, drew her manriki gusari , and bowed before him." 

Hun bowed back with a snide smile of superiority on his face. Now her proud words would earn her a just punishment. 

She lashed out at Hun with her weapon. It was no ordinary manriki gusari. The chain that held the ball was extraordinarily thin, but razor sharp. He caught the chain in his hand, and it cut him viciously. Suddenly he was in pain, and disoriented. It was then that the girl increased her assault, whipping him mercilessly. He didn't know quite how it happened, but all of a sudden she was on his back and her razor sharp chain, was around his neck. 

"Now," she said in sweet silken tones. "Yield like a good trained beast, and I won't remove that empty head from the mass you call your body."

Hun sighed, he was pretty sure she wouldn't kill him for being defiant, after all her and her mistress were ally's not enemies, but still she had made her point. "I yield." 

"Good boy," she said snidely as she released her hold on her chains. She jumped lightly from his back, and said to the women assembled. "You see, if you work hard enough you can defeat anyone. You must succeed for the glory of your master The Shredder. "

The woman Foot bowed before her. 

"Man!" Raphael said from their hiding place under the FDR drive. "Who is that girl? She's beating the living tar out of Hun."

"I don't know," Michelangelo glared down at the scene below. "She's not dressed like the rest of them, so she's not just Foot. Maybe she's higher ranked than the others."

Raphael shook his head. "I don't think so, Mikey, look at her outfit. No Foot marks, not even one. There's that double loop thing on her arm. I think that's her symbol."

"So she's not Foot," Michelangelo said. "The others are, and Raph, it looks like their training them for something big." He bowed his head worried. "They're gonna attack the temple!" 

Raphael saw the look on his face. Michelangelo was now as torn in two as the rest of them. He knew he promised to stay close to home, but he had this overwhelming desire to protect these mermaids that he considered friends. Okay, a talk with Leo and Splinter is in definitely in order when I get home. There's gotta be some way we can help them. He looked over at Michelangelo and tried to think of something productive he could do. "Mikey, what do you know about the weapons in that temple of theirs. What could The Shredder want?"

Michelangelo sighed. "I don't have a clue. I mean I've seen the weapons, but I never bothered asking them what they did.."

Raphael decided they weren't going to see anymore here, so he signaled to Mikey that they had better move. Once far away from the Foot he asked, "Okay is there anything you could try to tell me about these so called powerful weapons that might give you a clue to what they do?"

Michelangelo thought. "Well, there's Poseidon's Trident, that's sort of like a King Kong sized fork. And then there's the Gorgon's Head which is so dangerous that it's shut up in a box. I've never ever seen that one. There's some kind of net thing over the entrance to the main hall, and that's not counting the fountain of healing water that does all sorts of things, and then there are their regular treasures the binding chords magic pearls and rings and pendants."

"Man, sounds like your friends are loaded, Mikey," Raphael said. He thought a moment then his eyes fell on their favorite library. "Wait a sec," Raphael said. "That first one, the giant fork thing, what did you call it?"

"Poseidon's Trident," Michelangelo answered.

Raphael nodded to himself. "I knew I heard that name before. Back in April's old shop she had a book about myths. That guy Poseidon was in it, and he had a trident in the picture."

"So how does that help us now?" Michelangelo asked. 

"I'll go get Don and Leo, maybe we can talk them into doing something to help your girlfriend out, but it ain't gonna do a bit of good unless we get more info. So it's time to catch up on your reading bro. You find those mythology books and find out what Poseidon's trident really is."

"Gocha Raph!" Michelangelo said. He found a nearby drainpipe and slid expertly down to the street below. "Cowabunga!"

Raphael didn't even bother getting annoyed. "Time to get the others," he said to himself and jumped off the roof, running in the opposite direction.

Saki sat quietly drinking his tea with Lady Badb beside him. "Hun, report," he ordered.

Hun swallowed. "The Foot Tech Amazons are improving slowly." Hun said. It will be another week before they are ready for their first test."

Lady Badb grinned as she lazed on her pillow. "Of course they are improving, my large friend. My sweet little Freyja has gotten the kinks out of your rather laborious training system."

Hun looked at the scars on his hands from his battle with the tiny female warrior. "She is unlike any female fighter I have faced before."

"She should be," Badb said with a vicious gleam in her eye. I have trained her before she began to walk. She's a living weapon capable of killing anything I want her too."  
Shredder was getting board with the small talk. "Have you yet found the location of the temple of Aegir?"

Hun shook his head sadly. "I have tried, Master, but those who know, seem to prefer to die than to tell us. Except for the one agent who escaped, the others are no more."

The Shredder growled, but Badb sighed board. "I told you, Saki," she said. "I told you this mastodon you keep around would fail. If you had only let me -"

"Badb," Shredder said, "You try my patience. If you can find us the temple tell us where it is!" He turned to strike her, but in a series of lightning fast moves, she blocked his blows. Finally she struck out, and landed Saki squarely on his back. 

"I like foreplay as much as the next girl, but enough is enough," she said. "I don't know where the temple is, but I know who probably does, and the answer has been staring you both in the face for so long it's a wonder it doesn't reach out and bite you."

"Explain!" Shredder demanded.

Badb got up and paced around the room again. "Well your pet over there mentioned that one of the water maidens rescued those strange freak turtles that always seem to be interfering in your plans."

Hun grimaced, but he was curious what she was thinking. "There was only one that I saw, but it was one of the turtles."

"So," she said pacing around. "Even if your turtles did not know of the sea maidens then, I guarantee they do now. I'm sure if they were managed to be bedazzled by the maidens they know where the temple is."

Shredder was only mildly interested." Intriguing deduction, but only useful if you can find them!"

"Oh but that part is easy. You know of their allies. Attack them. When the turtles come forth, you will have your ticket to the temple."

Shredder considered this. "Hun, can you find that female that used to work for Stockman? She has allied herself to those freaks."

Hun grinned. "I can find her."

"Well then," Badb said with a impulsive spin."I say we find this woman. She will lead us to the turtles, and they shall find us our temple!"

Coming soon Chapter 8 Divisions Within

Michelangelo frowned and placed his hands on his nunchucks. "Don't push me, Leo. You won't like what you find."

The truth was Leonardo never did have to push Michelangelo to the edge before. Any other disagreement always ended up with Michelangelo cheerfully giving in. Looking into Michelangelo's eyes now, Leonardo wondered if this time he wouldn't.

"Convince me!" Leonardo said. He couldn't really believe that Michelangelo would draw weapons on him.

Michelangelo then did draw the weapons. As Leonardo took a shocked step back, Michelangelo said, "Okay, Leo if you really want to talk about this now...." Michelangelo lashed out with the nunchucks not at Leonardo, but at the nearest window. Instantly the burglar alarm rang out the alert. With a knowing grin on his face Michelangelo said, "We can talk here, and get nabbed by the cops, or we could split."


	8. Divisions within

Chapter 8 Divisions Within

Raphael came out of the elevator, and surveyed the lair slowly. Leonardo was practicing off to the side with Splinter supervising. Donatello was working on something at his workbench, but he looked up instantly when he heard Raphael enter.

"Hey Raph, that was a long trip to the roof." Donatello said with a knowing grin. 

Raphael snorted. "Yeah right, as if you don't know who I've been following for the past hour, and before you get too worried. Mikey's at the library."

Donatello nodded, looking satisfied. "I was hoping you'd decide to keep an eye on him. Was it anything important?"

"I'll say it was," Raphael said. "Shredder's goons are recruiting girls. The most likely explanation Mikey and I could come up with is that Shredder wants to find that temple where the mermaids live."

"What makes you think The Shredder wants to find the mermaid's temple." Leonardo asked as he and Splinter joined the group.

Raphael turned to them slightly excited. "Don't you guys remember? That's why I ran into Mikey's friend in the first place. Hun and his goons were shakin' this old guy down looking for a temple. I got them to leave the guy alone, but then they grabbed me. That's when Lillian showed up, and put some whammy on them to leave me alone. I don't think that was a coincidence that they were talking about a temple two weeks ago. They're trying to find it, and by the time they do find it they'll have their strike force ready. All girls. All immune to mermaid song. "

"What could be The Shredder's purpose to undergo such an attack?" Splinter asked.

Raph moved closer to Donatello's computer. "Mikey thinks it has to do with some powerful weapons he says they have down in that temple. That's why I talked him going into the library. Typical Mikey he never paid attention when they told him what they do. One of them sounded like something I read about in one of April's books, something called Poseidon's Trident."

"Poseidon was the Greek god of the ocean's, but it's only a story." Donatello said, putting down his work, and turning to face them.

"Right, and two weeks ago mermaids were just a story too." Raphael reminded them. "I'm not saying this Poseidon guy is real, I'm just saying Mikey said they had his trident thing or whatever in that temple."

Leonardo thought about that. "What else did Mikey say they have."

Raphael shrugged. "All sorts of things, a net, something shut up in a box. You know Mikey. He wasn't very specific. I figured him going to the library would make him feel like he's doing something useful. Leo, he's real worried for his mermaid friends. There's gotta be something we can do to help them."

Leonardo sighed. "You know, Raph, your talking about helping someone who can take control of our minds without even thinking about it." 

"I'm talking about helping Mikey's friends." Raphael said with a slight growl. "Just because we have a problem with them, doesn't mean he does."

"Leo, helping Mikey now, might mean he won't run off on us later," Donatello pointed out. "If he doesn't feel he can confide in us, he might very well go looking for his friend Lillian."

Leonardo gave in. "All right, I'll go over to the library and have a talk with him." Leonardo said. He sheathed his katanas and entered the elevator. 

Once the elevator doors were close Raph turned to the others and asked," Is it just me or did Leo get real jumpy when I mentioned Mikey's friends."

Splinter sighed. "When I first encountered the mermaid I too felt the awesome power they can wield, but they did not harm me, and despite my fears they did not take Donatello and Michelangelo from me. They never again showed themselves to me, respecting my wishes. I do not believe they are evil, but Leonardo lost himself to her song for a short time. He fears their power, even though they mean us no harm. He must combat this fear within him before he can regard them as an ally."

"Leo scared of a girl?" Raphael frowned at the thought. "That doesn't sound like him at all."

"This isn't just a girl, Raph," Donatello reminded him. "Mikey's friend is a mermaid.. I remember when she asked me to let her go. I...I couldn't disobey her."

"Maybe that's why I didn't get hit as bad as you two," Raphael said, "I didn't think twice about doing what she said, it felt, you know natural. I wasn't trying to fight it. I didn't even know I was supposed to."

"That's just it, we weren't supposed too fight it. At least that's how I felt. When I tried to if felt wrong. That's probably why Leo is tied up in knots over this, he keeps fighting it." Donatello explained.

"I guess," Raphael answered. "I just hope that Leo doesn't get too tied up in knots, or else he's not going to be of any used to us."

April had been feeling edgy all afternoon. It was one of those feelings her father had often told her not to ignore. Once she had told Splinter about these odd hunches and her father's advice. He agreed with it at once. He told her always to listen to that inner prompting that warned her of danger.  
So now she hastened her step, and looked behind her. She didn't see anything, but long association with the Leonardo and the others taught her a few things about ninja abilities. 

Just because I can't see them doesn't mean they aren't there. She mentally quoted Leonardo. Instead of trusting her eyes she used her ears, and that odd feeling she had. She was being followed she was sure of it. She stopped in her tracks. A second set of footsteps stopped a half a second later.

Damn!

There was a brightly lit street two blocks away and a 24 hour newsstand. All she had to do was run and make it to there before her pursuers .

She broke into a run, but only moved five steps before something wrapped itself around her waist. and dragged her into a back alley. She wasn't even surprised to see Hun.

"Oh great, the old man of the mountain come to see me." April said saucily. She knew she was asking for it, but there was no way on earth she was going to show how afraid she was of this walking behemoth.

From behind Hun stepped a woman of about twenty. She was dressed not like the rest of The Foot around, she was wearing a tight cat suit of black and purple. Her face was uncovered, and would have been pretty had not a smirk of contempt upon it. Her shoulder length hair was jet black tied up in a braid behind her and she had a pair of deep brown eyes.

"Spirited little thing isn't she," the woman said. She leaned against the graffiti covered wall. "I'm surprised you put up with it." 

Hun cracked his knuckles and said with a sneer, "I don't."

"Neither do I!" April said suddenly, with a mighty heave she swung her purse aiming for Hun's head. Ever since their return to New York, April had been very aware of how much of a target she was to the Foot. She made it a habit to carry around a good sized brick in her purse, and keep most of her money and identification in a pouch around her neck. The purse connected with the side of Hun's face. It didn't knock him over, but it forced him back two steps allowing April enough room to escape. 

She managed to duck down another alley but this one didn't lead to the newsstand. She would have to go completely around the block to make it there, and she could hear Hun, the Foot ninjas she had seen, and the strange woman racing after her. 

She wedged herself between a stairwell and a dumpster. Hun would have to dig her out of there. Then hoping against hope that Lillian was right about the flute, blew the notes the mermaid had shown her.   
A rattling above told them that Hun had found her hiding place. April picked up some trash that had collected in the corner. When she saw Hun's face he would get a bit of a surprise. Meanwhile she hoped that the signal would bring help soon.

Leonardo slipped into the basement of the library. They've all done it dozens of times. As much as Splinter disliked them sneaking up to the surface, when they were young he would bring them to the library as a treat. Over the years between the five of them, they had borrowed nearly every book here.

Leonardo came out of the basement and looked around. He didn't see Michelangelo at first, but he could hear someone breathing in the darkness, and the gentle rustle of turning pages.

Silently Leonardo began to follow the sounds to where Michelangelo lay on the floor with several large mythology books spread out around him. He was on his stomach, propped up on one elbow, and in his free hand was a flashlight shining on the book before him.

Michelangelo still hadn't sensed him, so Leonardo took the time to read over his brother's shoulder. 

When Poseidon struck the water with his trident, storms would rage. When he struck the land the earth would shake in great quakes, but when he stretched out his trident over the seas they calmed, and he brought forth-

Michelangelo must have finished the page, because just then he turned it. The breeze from the page made the light coating of dust around the book dance, tickling Michelangelo's nose. 

"Aaaaahhh Choo!" Michelangelo sneezed suddenly.

Leonardo couldn't resist. "Bless you," he said.

"Thanks, Leo," Michelangelo said absently, then realized that he wasn't alone. He rolled over and shone the light on Leonardo. "Leo! What are you doing here?" Michelangelo asked.

Leonardo groaned as hr raised hand to shield his eyes. "Trying not to get blinded by you, Mikey. Will you get that light out of my eyes?"

"Oh sorry," Michelangelo said hastily as he moved the light away. Holding it up so that it illuminated the space between them he asked, "So now are you gonna tell me why you're here?"

"Raph told us what happened earlier," Leonardo said. "He said you were worried about your mermaid friends. 

Michelangelo nodded emphatically. "Big time. If The Foot are putting a group of girls together its gotta be to go after the weapons in the temple!"

"Can your friends hide or move the weapons?" Leonardo asked. 

"I don't think so," Michelangelo said closing the book he had been reading. "There's really no place to move them. The nearest colony is up off the coast of Newfoundland. They can't use their magic if people are looking for them. It might let them know where the temple is, and it would take them weeks to swim them there."

"And if they tried to, it would be the best time to attack them," Leonardo finished. Then something occurred to him. "Colony?" 

Michelangelo smiled and nodded again. "Yeah, colony, a colony of mermaids, like a pod of whales, it's what they call their groups."

"You mean like a family? Are there mermen too?"

Michelangelo giggled at that. "No way dude. Mermaids breed with humans. They kinda test them then tell them the truth. A boy turns out to be human. The girls get the fins." He looked at Leonardo who didn't exactly like that idea, and it must have been evident on his face because then Michelangelo said, " relax, Leo. Its not like the dude doesn't know what he's getting into. It's just how they do things. "

"I'm sure it's very easy for them to convince a guy to -" Leonardo began but Michelangelo cut him off.

"It is, but they don't!" He said emphatically. "They just don't go around controlling people! What happened the other day was my fault! I thought if Lillian opened you up all the way we'd scare you off a bit. It didn't hurt you, and we didn't mean anything by it. It was my idea, Leo. Lillian didn't even want to."

Now Leonardo wasn't sure what to think at all. From what he was hearing, Michelangelo had given orders to the mermaid. Then again, he had done the same that morning on the rocks by Battery Park. Hit the waters girlfriend.... 

"I don't get it," Leonardo said finally. "I don't get them at all. What are they that they can affect our minds like this, and what are they to you that you trust them?"

Michelangelo sighed. "They're my friends. Lillian saved all three of you. Don was an accident, but when you and Raph were sick, she came because I called to her. How could I not want to help her after that?"

"But how can you trust her?" Leonardo asked. That was the one thing he couldn't reconcile to himself. Michelangelo trusted this being, who had the power to control them.  
"Ever since I was seven," Michelangelo began. "All she did was what she promised me she'd do. I trust them because I understand them, and how they think. They'd never hurt us, and you'd understand them too if you'd just open up to your own instincts, and listen to them."

"Open up to my...."Leonardo was still having trouble understanding. "What do you mean,"

Michelangelo looked at him directly and his voice took on an unusually serious tone. "What you feel around Lil....What all of us feel is just our instincts telling us what every other creature that swims always knew. Mermaids protect the water, and every thing in it. Most critters only know that helping them feels good, but the whales and the seals understand why they should help mermaids, and we do too." Michelangelo then shook off the serious mood, and grinned. "You can try to fight it if you want, bro," he said. "But I don't think one little mutation is going to beat 185 million years of evolution."

Leonardo sighed. Michelangelo was right, he just didn't understand. Either these mermaids had his brother so brainwashed he couldn't possibly doubt them, or Michelangelo knew something that he wasn't quiet communicating clearly. 

"Okay," Leonardo said slowly shrugging his shoulders. "I'll take your word for it, and considering that the Shredder wants something they have, I'll even accept that they might need defending. "What security do they have themselves?"

Michelangelo smiled excited again, and obviously relieved that he didn't have to defend his friends any longer. "Well Murial-" Michelangelo began then suddenly he stopped. "What the..." He started but then paused again as he strained to hear.

"What is it, Mikey?" Leonardo asked in a whisper. He tilted his left ear upward to try to hear, but he wasn't sure how he was hearing this sound. It seemed to vibrate through his whole body, in his blood and in his mind, and yet it was only a sound. It didn't mean anything to him, and he didn't feel any different, aside of being unsettled that he was feeling a sound.

"Awww shell," Michelangelo said, unsettled. "That's my call signal!"

"What?" Leonardo tried to listen again. "That...whistle?" 

Michelangelo quickly finished shelving the books. "Someone Lil knows needs me now!" He began to move for the staircase down to the basement, but Leonardo blocked his way.

"Now hold on, Mikey. Why do you have to go off just because of this whistle?"

"Leo, I've got to go now!" Michelangelo insisted. "It's not that they're forcing me! I know what that whistle means! Somebody needs my help now!"

Suddenly Leonardo got very stubborn. "What if I said that I thought they had you brainwashed, and I wouldn't let you go."

Michelangelo frowned and placed his hands on his nunchucks. "Don't push me, Leo. You won't like what you find."

The truth was Leonardo never did have to push Michelangelo to the edge before. Any other disagreement always ended up with Michelangelo cheerfully giving in. Looking into Michelangelo's eyes now, Leonardo wondered if this time he wouldn't.

"Convince me!" Leonardo said. He couldn't really believe that Michelangelo would draw weapons on him.

Michelangelo then did draw the weapons. As Leonardo took a shocked step back, Michelangelo said, "Okay, Leo if you really want to talk about this now...." Michelangelo lashed out with the nunchucks not at Leonardo, but at the nearest window. Instantly the burglar alarm rang out the alert. With a knowing grin on his face Michelangelo said, "We can talk here, and get nabbed by the cops, or we could split."

Leonardo knew he had no choice. They had to run, and once moving, it would be easy for Michelangelo to run off to wherever he wanted to go. 

Michelangelo knowing full well that he had won, slipped out the now broken window, and vanished into the night. 

With a sigh and a muttered curse Leonardo headed for the basement and the sewers. He knew he should go after Michelangelo, but being uncharacteristically selfish, Leonardo decided against it. Fine, he didn't want to talk, he wanted to run off to his friends. Let him. He's been dealing with them solo for ten years he doesn't need my help.

Annoyed Leonardo headed back to the lair. As he entered, both Donatello and Raphael, who had been deep in conversation looked up. "So where's Mikey?" Raphael asked. 

"He split," Leonardo said flatly. "He heard his mermaid buddies whistle for him, and he put us both in danger to get away from me."

"You didn't try to stop him did you, Leo?" Raphael asked. "He told us nearly a dozen times he wasn't going to let us stop him from helping them."

"Did you say whistle?" Donatello asked. "Mermaids don't whistle. They sing."

"It wasn't an ordinary whistle," Leonardo said tensing up. "I didn't so much hear it as I felt it through my whole body."

Both Raphael, and Donatello stared at him stunned. "That was it then," Raphael said slowly. "We heard it too, or whatever. How do you know it came from his mermaids?"  
"He told me, " Leonardo explained. "He said they were calling him, and he wouldn't explain to me why it was so important that he go to them."

"He probably wasn't thinking about it right then," Donatello said calmly. "He was just thinking of finding who called him."

"Maybe whoever it was needed help." Raphael said. "Maybe we should go lookin' for Mikey."

Leonardo sighed. "You guys can go if you want to," he said as he walked away. "As for me I'm washing my hands of the whole mess. If Mikey wants to hang out with the mermaids instead of his family, let him."

Raphael looked at his brother and frowned. "But Leo,"

But Leonardo was adamant. "No buts about it, Raph. We've been trying to help Mikey all week, and he not telling us anything. I'm done with it, I'm going to bed." With that Leonardo went up the stairs and left the two of them alone below.

Raphael stood there dumfounded for a few seconds before he found his voice. "Now what the shell was that-" He began making for the stairs. Donatello stopped him.

"Leave it Raph. He's not in the mood to listen to any of us right now," Donatello said sadly. 

Raph tensed slightly then gave in, letting his anger flow out of him. "I'll say, what crawled up under his shell? Why did he leave Mikey alone out there when he may be running into trouble?"

Splinter who had been reading on the couch now rose and joined them. "What did Leonardo believe the whistle meant?" The aged rat asked.

"He thought it was one of the mermaids," Donatello answered, "But like I said, if they wanted to call Mickey they'd sing for him not whistle." 

"It does not matter what you believe, or even what is so," Splinter explained. "But what Leonardo believes that drives him."

"He thought the mermaids were calling Mikey," Raphael said slowly. The idea he was beginning to have wasn't setting well with him. "The only time Leo gets wound up so tight that he stops thinking is when he thinks he's screwed up."

"There is one other time when Leonardo is distressed to the point where he does not think," Splinter told them sadly. It is when he believes that has not mastered his skills, and now he believes that he has not mastered himself."

"What do you mean sensei?" Donatello asked.  
Splinter sighed and looked back towards Leonardo's room. A ninja's greatest weapon is his mind and his body. Leonardo has strove to master both. Ever since his encounter with the mermaid he has felt as if she had shattered the disciplines of his mind."

"You mean mind control," Raphael said thinking slowly. "I don't know, sensei. It never felt like that to me. It's just that...." Raphael paused trying to figure out the words he wanted to use."

"You just wanted to do what she said," Donatello said, voicing what Raphael couldn't. When I tried to stop her from leaving the lair, and she asked me to let her go....." Donatello closed his eyes for a second then said. "It's inside us whatever this is. It hit me not when she spoke, but when she looked at me. Then I knew I had to help her."

Splinter nodded. "It is this feeling that Leonardo fears. Not the fact that he feels he must obey, but the fact that he can not master his feelings."

"We have to understand why we feel this way, before we can fight it," Raphael said. "And none of us understand it at all."

"It is his lack of control that Leonardo fears. Until he masters these new feelings, I fear he will avoid the mermaids, and Michelangelo, despite the need for aid.

Raphael nodded. That was why Leonardo had left Michelangelo. "Then the rest of us will just have to pick up his slack."

Coming Soon Chapter 9 Attacked!!

The eerie song filtered through the lair for ten minutes. April watched as Donatello, Raphael and Splinter sank into a deep sleep. April was wondering what the purpose of this song was when suddenly the pitch and tempo changed. 

What is Lillian doing now? April wondered. Did the change in song mean anything? She didn't expect an answer, but a few seconds later she heard Raphael call her. "April?" he said sleepily.

"Raphael?" April asked kneeling at his side. His eyes were closed, his breathing was slow and even. He was still asleep, but somehow Lillian was using him as some kind of mouth piece.

"April, you gotta let Mikey's friend Lillian in. She says she's got something that will make him better."

"Make him better?" Raphael had gone on about the healing water the mermaid had used on him, and Leonardo as children. Was that what he meant?

Raphael just kept on with the message. "But you gotta let her in April. She won't ask us too. It has to be by your will, your choice."


	9. Attacked

A/N : Special thanks to pacphys for editing for me

Chapter 9 Attacked.

Michelangelo raced from rooftop to rooftop. He didn't know who was calling him, but whoever was qualified to use his call signal knew him and relied on him to help them, when they were in need.

The flutes were amazing. Made of polished coral, the sounds they made could only be heard by creatures who swam. Michelangelo swore that they had to be magic. Every creature the mermaids cared for deep within their temple had been trained to respond to a different call. Once they realized that Michelangelo could hear the flutes as easily as their seals, they simply gave him a signal, and asked him to respond. He agreed eagerly, and had saved two special agents, both fully human females, and a third young man, who was the son, oddly enough, of Katherine one of the mermaids below. Best of all he had managed to do so without the others finding out. 

Man, another thing I'm gonna have to explain to them, he thought dispiritedly. It was bad enough that the whole thing was out in the open now. Leo didn't understand him now at all. He acted as if Lillian and her kind were their enemy, when in truth she was the best friend they could possibly have. He wished that Leonardo had come with him, or at least had followed him, but he knew that Leonardo would not. He's afraid of seeing Lil again. I wish I could make him understand what I promised them!

Suddenly the rattling of trash cans brought him to his destination. From above he saw Hun, the strange woman in purple and black he had seen before, and four Foot Tech Ninjas, surrounding a dumpster covering a cellar staircase. They had flung the trash cans away and were attempting to dig out their quarry.

Damn! They are after Lil and the others! They've got one of her agents under there! Well they're not going to win! 

"Get her out of there," the woman was ordering Hun. Hun grinned. Michelangelo knew that expression. Hun liked causing pain and suffering no matter what he did. Hun pushed the dumpster away revealing the red haired woman underneath. 

April???

There was no time to think. Michelangelo launched himself from the roof and landed directly onto Hun's head. Then he sprang from his temporary perch to kick the girl's back as well. 

"Now normally I don't hit ladies," Michelangelo said to the girl as he gave the recovering Hun a back kick to keep him back. "But I've seen you topple the old man of the mountain over there, and I know you're no lady!" With that he jumped down, picked April up and leaped past the two bowling over the Tech Ninjas. "Come on, April! We gotta book!"

They ran about five feet when he felt a stinging pain shoot all the way up his right leg, and a tug with more pain. Unable to move his leg forward he slammed down face first into the sidewalk. He rolled over to see that the razor sharp manriki gusari the girl owned was wrapped around his leg. 

"Mike!" April called out. 

"April Run!" Michelangelo ordered her, but she turned around and tried to tug him free of the chord. The razor thin chain only dug deeper into his leg. 

"Ow! No not working!" Michelangelo told her. As April gave up pulling they both looked up to see Hun and the stranger looking down at them. 

In an easy move Hun pulled April away from Michelangelo and threw her to the Tech Ninjas. Then he smiled at Michelangelo, cracked his knuckles, and said "play time"

Raphael moved up to the roof feeling edgy and restless. He couldn't believe that Leonardo allowed Michelangelo to run off after a signal from a mermaid.

Something funny is going on with Leo, Raphael thought as he went through a few stretches and shadow punches. He doesn't want to deal with anything involving these mermaids. Is he really scared of them? Whatever is bugging him, it's gonna make him mess up sooner or later.

A low rumble of thunder made Raphael look up. Dark purplish clouds were blowing in over the lighter clouds covering the sky. The air smelled of water, with a slight metallic tang in the back of his mouth. He let out a single long breath then went back to his exercises.

Suddenly he heard it again. Well heard was the wrong term. As before the whistle ran through his bones, muscles, blood and brain. Man, Don and me should have figured it out before, only a mermaid's device would do this to us. It was a different signal than before. Three long low pitched notes, then two high pitched ones. Again it didn't do anything to him. He didn't feel any different or have any new thoughts. Okay, so that whistle isn't to control us but then what is it for?

Suddenly a sea gull who was perched nearby on a telephone pole lifted its head and sent back it's harsh barking cry in answer to the whistle. The cry was taken up by two more seagulls near by.

Something's up. Raphael thought uneasily. He hadn't forgotten the odd occurrence where Michelangelo had gotten important news about The Foot from sea gulls. The noise from the gulls was growing louder. All of a sudden the three nearby gulls took off and joined ten others all headed directly south.

First whistle and Mikey goes off to help someone. This whistle and the gulls take off? Raphael started to worry. Before he even thought twice about this he jumped off to the next roof and then the next, following the seagulls.

April jumped up on Hun's arm and bit it so that he would let go of Michelangelo. Hun cried out, and tried to backhand her, but even hurt Michelangelo managed to stand up, and bash his nunchucks into Hun's wrist.

"Leave her alone, dude!" Michelangelo said. The female ninja in purple grabbed hold of April to hold her back. Hun clutched at his damaged hand. He glared at the rebellious ninja turtle then picked Michelangelo up by his shell, and flung him into the wall.

April kicked the girl off of her, and ran to Michelangelo. He was bleeding on his arms and legs and his breathing was labored. "A…April," he whispered.

"Mike?" April asked as she heard the footsteps of their enemies approaching. 

Michelangelo reached into April's pocket, and pulled out the flute placing her fingers on the flute he whispered. "Three like this, two like this, hold the last note." He gently manipulated her fingers on the flute. 

April nodded, and clutched the flute as Hun pulled her off of him again. "Hold her this time!" He ordered the girl. He picked up Michelangelo to throw him again.

As April began to struggle again the girl said, "Your own Foot has trouble holding this wench!"

April managed to get her arm free and the flute to her lips. She blew they way Michelangelo had shown her. The woman grabbed at the flute. "Stop that!" she ordered.

"No!" Hun argued, holding Michelangelo by his shell. "We want them to come!"

"Let him go!" April cried out. 

Hun only laughed at her. "Don't worry we won't damage him too much! When those mermaids come by we'll need this shell back alive, so they'll tell us where their temple is."

That made April shiver in shock. Michelangelo, still in Hun's arms, shook his head. "Shows what you know Gigantor. No matter what you do to me, they'll never tell. And they won't come unless I call them. And I'm not gonna call them."

"Oh really?" Hun said. "And what will you do when we use her to convince you to call."

"Too late for that, Andre'" Michelangelo said. "The Calvary is showing up now!"

Suddenly the air was filled with the scream of dozens of sea gulls. Hun, his companion, and the Foot Tech Ninjas looked up to see the birds swarming the area. Five gulls swooped down on the girl holding April. She let go and went for her weapon, but the gulls were too fast for her to attack them with the chain.

"April! Run!" Michelangelo said, but instead she jumped onto Hun's back trying to force him to release Michelangelo. With an easy move Hun reached over and pulled her off, then dropped her as he narrowly missed being hit by a shirukin.

"Uh uh uh," Raphael said as he twirled his sai casually. "Oversized muscle bound morons shouldn't be manhandling my friends! Now let them go Hun!" 

Hun's face fell into a glower and he threw April into Raphael. He was about to squeeze Michelangelo in his grip when four seagulls came dive bombing on him. He dropped Michelangelo and ran off with the others trying to protect his head from the vicious birds.

Raphael and April both moved towards Michelangelo. April picked him up and supported his head on her lap. After coughing and wheezing for a moment Michelangelo looked up at April. "Flute," he whispered to her. 

"Mike, we've got to get you below." April insisted, but Michelangelo shook his head.

"They won't stop with the Hitchcock routine till we tell them to," He explained. He held out his hand, and April dropped the flute into his hand.

With a practiced ease despite his injuries Michelangelo brought the flute to his lips and played a quick six note call. Off in the distance they heard the cries of the sea gulls quiet. Seconds later ten of them flew overhead."

"Well since your backup just flew the coop we'd better get underground," Raphael said. He and April picked up Michelangelo, and managed to get him into the nearest manhole cover. The whole way home Raphael seethed. Leo should have followed him! He should have been here to help Mikey!

"Raph," Michelangelo whispered just before they reached the lair. "It wasn't his fault."

"Don't talk," April said. "You have to rest."

"Don't give me that, Mikey," Raphael said, pausing to let Michelangelo rest. "Leo should have gone after you. We both know it."

Michelangelo shook his head no. "He....he doesn't understand. He doesn't know what I promised them. Leave it, bro."

"Okay Mikey, for you're sake I'll drop it." Raphael said still sounding angry. "But don't think I'm gonna forget this." He tried to lift Michelangelo again. "Geeze Mikey, you've got to stop going for seconds at dinner. You gotta drop a few pounds." After a few moments of grunting and pulling, Raphael had to give up. "April, go ahead get Don and Splinter, I can't carry him any further."

"Will do," April said as she ran for the entrance to the lair. As she got there, Donatello and Splinter both looked up. "It's Mikey," she said before they could even greet her. "He's hurt!"

Both Donatello and Splinter rushed to see Michelangelo. They got him arranged on his couch by the video monolith. "What the shell happened to him?" Donatello asked.

"Mikey took on Hun. By himself!" Raphael told them. 

"What? That was insane! Why in the world would he do something that crazy?" Donatello asked.

April lowered her head sadly. "He did it to save me. They must have known that Lillian had talked to me. They're still looking for the mermaid's temple."

"Save you?" Donatello asked confused. "But the whistle -" he began. Raphael cut him off.

"Show him April," Raphael said. As April fished out the little flute Raphael said. "Mikey said something about having promises with those friends of his. Part of the deal must have been to help people who knew how to call him on this."

As Donatello and Splinter looked curiously at the small coral flute, April explained. "Lillian said if I ever needed help to play the notes she showed me. I had no idea that Michelangelo was going to answer that call.

"It actually makes sense," Donatello said as he examined the flute from every angle. "You would be used to one of us come to your rescue."

April moved to the kitchen where they kept their medical supplies. "If I had known," she said handing Splinter the bandages, "I would never have used it. They were just using me to get to you guys. They were sure they could use you to lure the mermaids back to the city.

Raphael paced around the couch as April, Donatello, and Splinter ministered to Michelangelo's wounds. "Yeah, well I wish it would have worked. We could use that mermaid and her healing water now."

"The what?" April asked as she cut another length of bandage for Splinter.

"When Leo and I were kids, we got sick, real sick. Mikey's mermaid showed up when everyone was asleep, and gave us some kind of magic healing water. It made us better in less than a day."

"It would be useful," Donatello said with a sigh, glancing at Michelangelo," but how are we going to contact her. Only Mikey knows how. "

Suddenly steps behind them made them turn around. It was Leonardo. "Oh is Mikey back **(9)** what-" He stopped in mid sentence as he took in the scene before him. Donatello and Splinter were bandaging up a cracked place in Michelangelo's plastron, and April was doing the same to a bruise on his arm the size of a small grapefruit. "What the shell happened?" He asked.

There was fire in Raphael's eyes as he moved toward Leonardo, preparing to strike. April dropped her bandages, and grabbed onto Raphael's arm. "No, Raph! You promised!"

Raphael tensed up, closing his eyes, and clenching his fist so tightly his fingers dug into his palms. For a moment Donatello thought Raphael was going to attack Leonardo anyway, but then he relaxed, opened his eyes, and simply glared at Leonardo for a second before turning back to the others. He didn't say anything. He didn't have to. His expression had said it as clearly as if he had shouted it across the room. _This is your fault!_

Leonardo looked as if he had been struck. Very slowly he came up behind Raphael, and looked down at his injured brother. "What....where did he go? What happened?"

Raphael was seething inwardly. "Tell him, April," Raphael said, his anger clearly in his voice. 

April nodded slowly. "You tried to keep Michelangelo from answering the flute." She said. It wasn't a question. When Leonardo noddedApril continued. "He made a promise to his mermaid friends that if anyone called him using a special flute that he would go and help them. These were people the mermaid trusted to help Mike, as well as have him help them." April took Leonardo's hand and placed her flute into it.

"This flute?" Leonardo asked slightly confused. He looked at it, andthen looked around the room. "I don't get it. Where's the person Mikey went to help then?"

Raphael punched a near by support pillar, frustrated that Leonardo didn't understand. "You're looking at her genius! Lilian gave that flute to April cuz she was watching over us!"

Leonardo blinked surprised at that, but then looked at April and asked, "but....but why? I mean why are you helping them?"

With a deep sigh April said, "because, Leo, the one thing she asked me to do, the only thing she asked me to do, was watch over the four of you. She knows you guys were going to have problems because you were exposed to her power or whatever, and she knew you'd trust me because I'm immune to her powers. She didn't want to hurt any of you, it's my fault Mikey got hurt. I mean The Foot were looking for you, and if I knew the flute was going to bring him, I would have never have used it."

"It's kinda like a dog whistle, I guess," Raphael said evenly, still very angry. "Mikey used it to call sea gulls down on The Foot so we could get away. I guess they just took advantage of the fact that Mikey and us could hear it too. For him, it was just a call for help."

Donatello nodded. "That's probably why that was the only signal Lilian bothered to teach you, April. We weren't compelled to answer the flute but we could hear it. Mikey wasn't compelled by it either."

Leonardo nodded slowly. "He just knew someone he promised to protect needed his help." He shook his head sadly. "Mikey told me, but I didn't listen. I thought I had it all figured out. I am such an idiot!" Without another word to the others, he slowly trudged up the stairs to his own room.

Splinter looked sadly after his perfectionist son, and handed over his healing duties to Donatello. He followed Leonardo up to his room,and waited by the doorway.

Leonardo was sitting in his bed with his knees tucked up to his chest, and his head on his knees. He was shivering slightly and muttering to himself over and over again. "It's all my fault. It's all my fault."

"Michelangelo understands your fear of his friends." Splinter said as gently as he could. "He does not blame you for not following him."

"But I should have," Leonardo said, not looking directly at his sensei. "I knew he was walking himself into trouble, and I should have been with him!"

"Then why did you not follow?" Splinter asked. When Leonardo didn't answer the aged rat asked, "Is it because you fear to encounter his friend again?"

"You mean the mermaid?" Leonardo asked. When Splinter nodded Leonardo sighed and picked his head up enough to rest his chin on his knees. "Part of me is I guess," Leonardo began trying to figure out what it was he was feeling, "but another part wants me to find her. It wants me to be with her and accept her as if she were our leader and master. The worst part is I don't even know why I feel this way! "

"It is as Michelangelo explained to you," Splinter said, joining Leonardo on the bed. "Our mutation does not change what you originally were. The blood and spirit of your ancestors runs deep within you. As a turtle a creature of water, you are subject to them."

"But I don't want to be!" Leonardo insisted tensing up again. "You're our sensei, our father! I don't want to lose all that, and I don't want to be under the control of creatures I've never seen before!"

"And that is why, Michelangelo's friend asked April to watch over you," Splinter explained. "So she would not be seen by you or the others again. You must admit both she and Michelangelo have been trying to avoid contact with you since we have been aware of her."

"I guess," Leonardo said sadly. Splinter understood his son's fear. Leonardo had overcome every obstacle in his life including a paralyzing fear of heights by taking control of himself. His own personal quest was for self mastery. The mermaid made him feel out of control of his emotions, his thoughts, his very life. Leonardo desperately wanted to be in control of these feelings, but they weren't just emotions, they were instincts so deeply ingrained within him that he had no control over them. The one thing Leonardo still feared terribly was being out of control of a situation, and yet there was no mastering an instinct.

"Leonardo," Splinter said gently. "You must master this fear, as you have mastered everything else. Meditate on this. Seek out these instincts within your mind and understand what it is that they mean to you."

Leonardo nodded only half listening. "Yes sensei," he said sadly. Splinter did not press the issue further. Leonardo had to resolve his internal conflict on his own.

Splinter came back down the stairs. Donatello and April were finishing with Michelangelo. Raphael was kicking the bag, taking out his anger at Leonardo on the sack. When Splinter looked at him he stopped and glowered. "Are you going to try to convince me that this isn't Leo's fault? Well don't bother! You know I'm right. Mikey wouldn't have gotten hurt if Leo had gone after him!"

Splinter glared at Raphael sternly. "I do not know that, Raphael, and neither do you. Leonardo did not follow Michelangelo, so no one can know what would have happened. Can you truly blame your brother for wishing to avoid the mermaid and her power?"

That deflated Raphael. He stopped fighting the bag, and leaned against the wall. "Maybe. I just don't know what it is about that mermaid that bugs Leo so much. I mean as far as we know all she's ever done is help us."

"Get real Raph," Donatello said sadly. He collected the first aid supplies and put them back in the kitchen. "It isn't the mermaid that's bugging him. It's how he feels, how we all feel, when she's around. She may not be deliberately trying to control us, but all she has to do is open her mouth to get any one of us to do what she wants."

"Not Mike," April reminded them. He bosses her around, tells her when he thinks she's wrong. I don't know what he knows that you don't, but he's got this whole mermaid thing under control."

"He's had almost ten more years to learn how to deal with this than we have, April," Donatello reminded her. "I think that somehow all the exposure Mikey's had to the mermaids might have given him some kind of immunity, or at least a tolerance for them."

"I wish Mikey had told us about her long ago," Raphael said. He looked tired, but his tone was slightly accusatory. "If he had, we'd know how to contact her. We'd have known that they needed out help. We'd have known....." Suddenly without warning he pulled his sai and jabbed at the sand bag, allowing the sand inside to escape.

Splinter said nothing, but glanced at Raphael expectantly. Raphael glared right back, but he grabbed onto the opening of the sand bag, before it could spill everywhere, and tore it down. "I'd better fix this," he mumbled, and went into the kitchen. 

"What was that about?" Donatello asked puzzled. "Why is he mad at you, sensei?" 

Splinter sighed sadly. "Raphael is angry with me because he believes that I am the reason that Michelangelo kept his mermaid friends a secret for so many years, and I believe he is right. Michelangelo remembered that I feared the mermaids would take you from me."

"He was also trying to keep us separated," Donatello reminded him. He knew what would happen to the three of us if we did see his friend."

"He tried to tell me," Splinter continued sadly, "several times, but I refused to accept his words. I feared that one day they would come for you, and, willingly, you wouldgo and leave me."

Donatello sighed pensively. He didn't know how much Splinter had been afraid of that possibility. "She's known Mikey for going on eleven years if she hasn't taken us away from you by now, I don't think she ever intended to."

Splinter nodded. "I believe that as long as you were being well cared for the mermaids were content. If I had known back then, perhaps things would have been different." 

Raphael came back in dragging the empty repaired bag. "I guess, but we can't change the past. I don't really blame you, sensei. It's just that if it was any one of us Mikey would have called his friends by now, but cuz he's the one down, we can't do anything." He sighed sadly, and leaned against the couch Michelangelo was resting on. "I wish there was some way we could get word to Lilian that Mikey needed her and her healing water."

"Even if we could," Donatello reminded him, "she might not come. Remembershe knows The Foot are searching for her and her people. It would be crazy to risk The Foot finding her just to do what time will do for us."

"You saw her for five seconds, Donny," Raphael said with a yawn. He plopped down next to the couch "I was with her for a half hour. Don't ask me how I know, but I know, she'd come for Mikey."

The next time Donatello brought clean water for Michelangelo's wounds he noticed that Raphael had dozed off. "About time," Donatello said with a sigh of relief. "His attitude was getting even on my nerves."

"He's worried about Michelangelo," April said evenly. "And he was awfully mad at Leo." 

"Part of me can sympathize," Donatello said. "It's not like Leo to leave any of us to walk into a potentially dangerous situation. If it didn't have to do with LillianLeo would have followed him."

"That is true," Splinter replied. "Leonardo lost his fear of great heights once he took control of the fear. Now he fears to lose that control, and considering the mermaid's power, I do not know how to combat that fear.

"Leo will come around," April said. "It will just take something to kick him in the butt."

Suddenly a strange high pitched hum filled the chamber. Two seconds later both Donatello and Splinter yawned. 

"Splinter, are you all right?" April asked.

"Merely tired, April," Splinter said. "I am not as young as I used to be."

"I don't think it's you, sensei," Donatello said as he yawned again. "All of a sudden I'm beat too."

"Maybe it's that sound I hear." April said. "Don't you guys hear it?"

Splinter was nodding off in his chair. Donatello shook his head in an effort to clear it. "Oh...oh man. I think (yawn) it's her, Lillian." 

"Lillian?" April asked. Donatello closed his eyes, and flopped down leaning his shell against the couch next to Raphael. April tried to shake him back to his senses. "Don! Donny! Tell me what to do! Lillian is singing you to sleep!" 

Donatello was already to far gone to be of any help. He leaned against the couch and mumbled, "can't think. Wanna sleep. "

"Donny?" April shook him again, but a snore was her only answer.

"Now what do I do?" April asked the room. Her only answers were the snores of her friends. There was nothing she could do.

The eerie song filtered through the lair for ten minutes. April watched as Donatello, Raphael and Splinter sank into a deep sleep. April was wondering what the purpose of this song was when suddenly the pitch and tempo changed. 

What is Lillian doing now? April wondered. Did the change in song mean anything? She didn't expect an answer, but a few seconds later she heard Raphael call her. "April?" he said sleepily.

"Raphael?" April asked kneeling at his side. His eyes were closed. His breathing was slow and even. He was still asleep, but somehow Lillian was using him as some kind of mouth piece.

"April, you gotta let Mikey's friend Lillian in. She says she's got something that will make him better."

"Make him better?" Raphael had gone on about the healing water the mermaid had used on himand Leonardo as children. Was that what he meant?

Raphael just kept on with the message. "But you gotta let her in April. She won't ask us too. It has to be by your will, your choice."

April didn't need an explanation for that. After Lillian's escape from the lair the last time, they had closed the underwater escape tunnel. In order for Lillian to get in, someone from inside the lair had to release the door.

It wasn't really much of a choice. If Lillian had something to help Michelangelo it was worth risking letting her in.

April moved to Donatello's security control grid. She had helped him fix it once so she knew exactly how it operated. She put in the security code, and pulled the lever releasing the locks on the underwater escape hatch. Less than a minute later Lillian's head broke the surface of the ornamental pond.

"Lillian!" April called out. She moved over to the pond and helped the mermaid out of the water. "How did you know about Michelangelo?" April asked.

Lillian was wearing a pale blue tube top and a belt around her waist. She touched a clip on the belt and waves of soft salmon colored cloth fell from the compartments. She arranged the cloth to become a gauzy flowing skirt whose hem gently brushed the water. Slowly as her tail converted into legs she explained. "Raphael's heart is confused about me, but never about his brothers. The moment he suspected that I could be of assistance his heart called on me to give him aid."

April wasn't sure she understood that. She helped Lillian to stand as they moved over to where Michelangelo lay. "Raphael called you? How?"

"He called me within his heart. Because I know them I could hear his call." Lillian knelt down next to Michelangelo, and gently brushed his forehead with his fingertips. She leaned over close to his ear, and whispered his name. "Michelangelo." 

Michelangelo's eyes fluttered open. He looked directly at Lillian at first with joy, and then with apprehension. "Lil? You came? What were you thinking,girl? The Foot are looking for you!"

"Did you believe I would not find out what you had done?" Lillian asked instead. "You saved your friend at great cost to yourself; for our sake as well as your own. Did you not think at least one of your brothers would desire me to heal you deep within their hearts?"

Even weak with pain Michelangelo showed surprise. "One of my bro's called you the way I do? But how? When did they -"

Lillian silenced him, touching her fingers to his lips. "They called me as you did as a child, with no more than a wish in his heart, but a strong desire for it to come true."

"You said it was Raph," April reminded her, "and it makes sense. He would have gone looking for you if he had any idea of where to look. He said you brought him healing water when he was sick."

"And I have brought the healing waters now," Lillian said raising a leather flask that was strapped to her side. "As beings of water I can hear their hearts, more so with Michelangelo and his brothers because I have guarded them for most of their lives. At the moment Raphael desired my help, I heard and answered that call." Lillian lifted the flask,uncorked it, and handed it to Michelangelo. "Drink my friend. Drink the healing waters, and grow well and strong."

Michelangelo brought the flagon to his lips, and drank deeply, draining the container completely. When he was done he handed the flask to Lillian, and blinked sleepily. "Those are your healing waters?" He asked. A second later he yawned. "I feel so weird, tired." He yawned again. 

Lillian smiled and ran her fingers lightly over Michelangelo's forehead. "The waters will draw you into a deep sleep where your body will heal. I shall sing a healing song to aid you."

Michelangelo, however, was still fighting the tranquilizing effects of the waters. "But Lil, (yawn) the others."

"Shhh, sleep," Lillian admonished him lightly. "A healing song will not wake the others. It will heal their minds and spirits as well as your body. However," here she glanced sadly up towards Leonardo's room. "Some must face the adversity of fire,metal, earth and air before they can reach the waters of healing."

Michelangelo yawned, and closed his eyes as he took Lillian's hand. "I know," he said, "s'okay."

With a gentle smile for Michelangelo, Lillian began to sing. It didn't sound like a single voice. It reminded April of some odd kind of bagpipes, able to sing the same melody in different voices at the same time. It was strange, but it was also a beautiful sound.

Michelangelo sighed blissfully, and allowed himself to fall asleep. Laying on the floor next to the couch, Donatello and Raphael sighed as well. April decided to give up worrying about them, and simply analyze what she could about the mermaid's song. Seeing Michelangelo and the others content was satisfying enough.

Coming Soon Chapter 10 Of Dreams and Nightmares

Together they managed to fight their way to Raphael who was fighting Foot Tech Amazons and having the time of this life. He was fighting back five of them, three armed with manriki gusari,and two with swords. A sixth appeared wielding a seven foot bo with a metal point on each end. She managed to get Raphael on the back of the head scratching him, and sending him over the railing into the water.

"Raph!" Donatello shouted out. He tried to move over to where he saw Raphael fall in, but the Foot Tech Amazons were too much for him. One almost clipped him with a battle ax, but Lillian's knives deflected it. In the next instant the ax came down for her, and Donatello knew that no matter how fast he moved he wasn't going to be able to block it.

Time slowed to an agonizing crawl as Donatello watched the ax blade move towards Lillian's neck.


	10. Of Dreams and Nightmares

A/N : Special thanks to pacphys for editing for me

Chapter 10 Of Dreams and Nightmares

What do you wish for Donatello? The mysterious voice floated through his dreams. What do you desire, Donatello? What will bring peace to your soul?

Not sure what the voice meant, Donatello answered it. "I don't understand, what does what I want have to do with peace?"

"It has to do with them," the voice answered. Donatello found himself on a granite outcropping of rock just above the ocean. It was no place he recognized. There were no buildings or familiar landmarks around him. The ocean was a bight sapphire blue, not the normal murky green of New York waters. There wasn't a sign of civilization anywhere. There was just these high lonely cliffs being gently caressed by the ocean.

In the water there played about a dozen mermaids. Donatello could hear the mermaids clearly as they cavorted, and dove into the foamy surf. Again Donatello felt the emotional tug he experienced around Lillian. He still didn't understand the emotions. Around the mermaids he felt secure, content. Like Raphael, Donatello found himself liking this feeling. Still he knew he needed to understand why he felt this way.

"You mean you don't know yet?" The voice asked amused. Donatello turned towards the sound to be confronted by his exact duplicate. Donatello's double was lounging on a sofa shaped rock watching his counterpart with a knowing grin.

Now Donatello knew that he must be dreaming. He stared at his doppelganger completely confused.

Donatello's double regarded him lazily. "You still don't get it do you?" His duplicate asked. "You have no idea why they move you. Why your heart races when you see them, and your blood flows faster at the very sound of their voices. Why before they say a single word, your very soul seeks to help them."

"Donatello nodded uneasily. "And I suppose you do?" He asked with a slight edge to his voice. "Who are you? Why do you look like me?"

The Donatello double laughed at that. "I am you, Don! I'm the part of you that knows, understands, and accepts them. Didn't you tell the others you felt torn in two?"

He had. All of them had described that feeling of being internally divided. As he looked at his double he thought it was an odd way to represent an internal struggle.

"Okay," Donatello said, throwing the challenge to his doppelganger. "Explain it to me then! Why are we compelled to help and protect them!"

His double gave a sly grin. "Because they help and protect us. They have since the beginning, and they will until the very end. They are a part of us, as we are a part of them. We've sung the same song since before we were hatched." Donatello still didn't understand. "Look again," his double suggested. "Look, then you will understand."

Donatello turned back to the ocean. Again he marveled as the mermaids played in the waves. Suddenly Donatello glimpsed a strange green brown algae covered stone floating in the waves besides the mermaids.

That a stone should be floating struck Donatello by surprise. This was strange even for a dream! As he watched, however, he saw a head pop up, and realized that it wasn't a floating rock at all. It was the biggest sea turtle he had ever seen. There was no way that this was a modern sea turtle. This dream turtle had to be from the time of the dinosaurs, when gigantic shelled sea reptiles swam alongside it's cousins liplurodon, and ichthyosaurus.

The sight of one giant prehistoric turtle was more than enough to fill Donatello with awe. Suddenly he saw another brown green shell, and another, and another. There were more and more of the giant turtles swimming alongside the mermaids. The mermaids were laughing and talking to the turtles as if they were old friends. They even grabbed hold of the reptiles' shells, hitching a ride. One mermaid was even so bold as to jump up out of the water and onto the turtle's back. She sat there as if he were her own personal floating island. Donatello could almost swear that the turtle was as amused with the situation as the mermaids were.

We've sung the same song since before we were hatched, his double had said. Now Donatello understood. This song, the song of the ocean came from his ancestors, those ancient giant sea turtles he saw below in the sea. This song, this genetically programed instinct was so deeply a part of them that it could not be denied.

"Accept it Donatello," he heard his double say. "Accept what you are. It is far less painful than rejecting it."

There was no way Donatello could argue with that. He saw what rejecting it was doing to Leonardo. Donatello closed his eyes, took a deep breath, then opened his mind fully to the song he heard in the distance, and he felt in his heart.

A wave of peace settled over him. He still didn't know anything about the mermaids, but he knew what his instincts told him. Mermaids were friends to the oceans, and to any who called them home. That friendship would extend to the decedents of sea turtles, even mutant turtles.

Friends His own instincts would demand that he treat the mermaids as friends. That they were to be trusted and helped. But help does not mean that you follow blindly obeying all they say. His double whispered into his mind. Help often means you do what is best for them, even if they do not desire it.

That knowledge freed Donatello like nothing else. This was why Michelangelo could order mermaids around, and contradict them, and if Michelangelo could do it, so could he.

'So Donatello, I ask you again. What do you wish for? What do you need to know?"

Despite the revelations of his instincts, dozens of questions came to his mind for the mermaids.

His double laughed heartily. "I should have known. We always want to know everything! Well Like sensei always says. There is only one way to know anything."

Donatello knew the end line to that particular proverb. "The only way to know anything is to learn it."

Donatello's double laughed again. "So wake up, Donatello. Wake up and begin to learn."

"Huh?" Donatello blinked suddenly awake. Gone were the high cliffs, and the ocean waves. He was back in the lair laying on the floor against the couch. Six inches away from his nose sat the mermaid Lillian.

That's....She's.....she's still singing! Donatello tried to remember what had happened. He and Splinter had heard her singing and had fallen asleep. Splinter was still asleep in his chair, and Raphael was still snoring next to him. None of that explained why he was awake now while she was still singing.

Unless it was because I wanted to learn about her, he thought. Wake up and begin to learn. Somehow that dream he had given them the ability to listen to Lillian's song now and not get bewitched by it. He was awake now, because the one thing that would make him comfortable around mermaids was learning about them.

Lillian finished her healing song, and gently kissed Michelangelo on the forehead. Michelangelo was sleeping so deeply he didn't even stir.

April was watching amazed. Had April allowed the mermaid in? She must have. The emergency exit to the lair had been secured every since Lillian's last visit. "What will that do for Mikey?" She asked softly as if she was afraid of waking the others. Donatello held absolute still so they would not know he was awake.

Lillian smiled down at Michelangelo. "Our singing stirs their blood and spirit. We can stimulate their bodies to heal faster. That along with the healing water will make him well very soon.

Donatello watched as April adjusted Michelangelo's blankets. Sure enough his injuries did not seem as severe as they had been before. With his trained scientific eye, Donatello noted that Michelangelo's breathing was no longer labored, but slow and even. Somehow Lillian's song had healed Michelangelo.

"What will it do to the others?" April asked.

Lillian sighed. "It is hard to say." The mermaid explained. "For those who are confused, their dreams will bring clarity to their hearts and minds. For Leonardo though," here she lowered her head sadly. "He is not confused. He knows what we are, and he fears it. I can touch his soul and I know his thoughts. He wishes to reject the forces that bind him to us, but in doing so he rejects himself."

"Leo thought he knew who he was," April said in that same resigned tone that Lillian used. "You and Mikey showed him that he didn't, and it bothers him. He likes to be in control of things, even himself."

Lillian nodded. I fear that if he chooses to reject what he is he cannot win this battle within. The only way he can regain the mastery of his spirit is to give it up. His dreams will be troublesome as that which is within him confronts him on his fears."

"It's not his fault that he doesn't get it," April said testily.

"I did not say that it was," Lillian explained. "He is at war with himself, and his dreams will reflect that internal struggle. He must–" Lillian suddenly paused and tilted her head as if to listen better.

"What is it, Lillian?" April asked.

"Something is wrong," the mermaid said with a worried frown. "I hear the song of another of my people, but none should be here. We have all retreated to the temple for security."

Donatello couldn't hear this other mermaid or could he? He closed his eyes again and relaxed, trying to find that place in his mind that the dream had shown him. The moment he found it he heard the song. It was a soft and uncertain copy of Lillian's healing song. It didn't carry Donatello away into a dream again. On the contrary, if he focused on the sound, they almost became words. Grow well grow strong brave warrior of the seas. Your sisters love you we rely on you to defend us, and we will protect you. Our hearts swim as one. We are joined by the oceans that gave us life. Be well my friend so we can swim the seas together.

"Sharks and eels! That child is going to cause waves of trouble!" Lillian said exasperated. Quicky she turned back to April. "My friend, I'm sorry to be so rude, but I must see to my younger sister. She is not supposed to be here above the waves. Especially not as such a dangerous time!"

"I agree," April said. "Go take care of whoever that is. With the Shredder after you it's dangerous for any of your people to be around."

"Thank you my friend," Lillian said. She leaped to her feet, gave Michelangelo one last kiss on the top of his head, then ran and dove for the pond. In seconds her legs were a tail again and she slipped into the water. Only the ripples betrayed that she had been there at all.

Even though Donatello was no longer mesmerized by the mermaids his instincts were telling him that he should help Lillian see to her unknown companion.

"Maybe I should go after her," Donatello said finally raising his head up to look at April.

"Don? You're awake?" April asked jumping in surprise.

Donatello nodded as he got to his feet. "In....in my dreams I said I wanted to learn more about Lillian, so I woke up. I heard what she said about someone being above the surface who shouldn't be. April, am I losing it, or am I right in thinking that she could use someone watching her back?"

April sighed, and smiled. "You must be reading my mind, because I was thinking the same thing."

Donatello nodded and grabbed his bo. "In that case I am going after her." Still on the floor Raphael began to stir.

"Huh? Go after who?" Raphael asked as he blinked and rubbed his eyes.

"You got your wish, Raph," Donatello explained. "Lillian was here. She just left! Come on!"

Instantly Raph was on his feet his sais tucked in his belt. "We're going after her?"

"She needs our help," Donatello said quickly. "I'll explain on the way."

"Wait a minute Don," April said, "what about Leo?"

Donatello sighed, and glanced up at Leonardo's room. "You heard what Lillian said about him. Even if he wasn't rattled by the dreams, he hasn't resolved his feelings about her. I don't want to risk him freezing up on us. We'll be fine. Come on Raph!"

Raphael gave April a questioning glance. With a long sad sigh, April nodded. Raphael shrugged then followed Donatello out of the lair.

Donatello was pretty sure he knew where Lillian was getting into and out of the sewers. He and Raphael were using a land route, but he knew that the underground river that fed water into the pond in the lair had an exit in nearly the same place they were going to. He and Raphael entered the tunnel that held the underground river. For the first time since he had been aware of the place he ignored the surge of adrenaline that always came with being so close to the place he nearly died. His only concern at the moment was Lillian.

The river had an exit by Pier 17. Above the river's exit was a storm drain where Donatello stood as he peered out into the night. As usual he did everything Master Splinter had told him about going above. He listened intently for signs of trouble, and looked around. There was nothing to see or hear. The only thing he could see was the river reflecting the night lights from the city above. The only thing he could hear were the waves gently lapping the shore. Slowly Donatello moved out of the storm drain motioning to Raphael to follow.

"I don't see anybody here," Raphael said. "How are we gonna find her?"

Donatello thought a moment. "I'm going to see if that dream I had taught me anything." Donatello said. He closed his eyes and tried to feel inside of himself where the dream had come from.

"You had some freaky dream about the mermaids too?" Raphael asked surprised.

Somehow Donatello wasn't surprised to hear Raphael say 'too,' "We can compare notes later. Let me concentrate now!" Again Donatello tried to find the place in his mind where the dream had come from. It took a few minutes, but eventually Donatello had achieved the mental state he desired. As in his dream he was connected into the link between him, his ancestors, and the mermaids. In that instant he knew that Lillian was closer than they thought.

Following that stranger inner prompt that only he could hear Donatello lead the way to one of the darkened narrowed streets of downtown. They caught up with Lillian on Whitehall Street. She was hidden in a shadow, watching as thirty of the new female Foot Tech Ninjas were trying to fish something out of the water."

"It has escaped again, mistress," One of the ninja women said, as the net came up empty.

Raphael tightened his grip on Donatello's arm as the leader of the female Foot chastize her warriors. "Fools! You're trying to capture something fishermen never see! You'll never trap her in a net!"

They're after the other mermaid. The one Lillian said is out here, Donatello thought. Again he glanced up at Lillian. She had not moved, nor revealed herself to the Foot. As long as the other mermaid was safe, Lillian would avoid the Foot.

"Don," Raphael whispered from behind him. "We gotta distract those girl Foot, and get them away from the water so Lil can dive in!"

Donatello nodded. "But we can't let ourselves be seen. The Foot would use us to catch Lillian. Donatello tried to think of a way to lure The Foot away.

Raphael was thinking too. Suddenly a wicked grin played across his face. "Stay here Brainiac," he said with a low chuckle. "I've got an idea." Before Donatello could ask him what he was up too, Raphael vanished into the shadows. Seconds later Donatello heard a distinct metallic clanging sound. The Foot women heard it, and went off to investigate. As soon as all The Foot were gone Lillian moved from her hiding spot. Donatello went forward to meet her.

"Donatello? What are you doing here?" she demanded.

"We're trying to help you," Donatello explained. "You said you had to find someone who wasn't supposed to be here above the water."

"But if The Foot finds us..." Lillian said uncertainly. She furrowed her lovely brow in thought. "No, I cannot allow you to be placed in such danger." She looked him directly in the eye. "Please, you and your brother must go home."

Donatello to his own surprise shook off the suggestion easily. "Sorry, Lillian, your own healing song fixed me and Raph. You said so yourself. You wouldn't be chasing Mikey off, and he wouldn't let you. You know you need our help."

"You are wrong, Donatello," Lillian said with a sigh. "I would try to chase Michelangelo off, but like you, he would choose to stand by my side."

"Then lets not argue," Donatello answered with a grin. He had won that argument. "Where is the other mermaid?"

Lillian turned her attention to the water. "She was by the entrance to your domain, but was chased here by The Foot Tech Amazons. They almost had her when your brother distracted them.

They were both gazing into the river water when they heard a new voice say, "Distracted no more." Before Donatello could react a Foot Tech Amazon planted a foot into his side, knocking him into the ground. When Donatello looked up two dozen female Foot Tech Ninjas were surrounding the pair.

"Yee Ha!" Raphael came from behind the Foot Tech Amazons, and began to attack. Keeping close to Lillian Donatello defended the mermaid, but he knew that they were hopelessly outnumbered.

To his surprise Lillian was not completely helpless. She had a pair of beautiful knives with mother of pearl handles. They weren't as long as Raphael's sai, but she wheeled them with deadly efficiency.

Together they managed to fight their way to Raphael who was fighting Foot Tech Amazons and having the time of this life. He was fighting back five of them three armed with manriki gusari, and two with swords. A sixth appeared wheedling a seven foot bo with a metal point on each end. She managed to get Raphael on the back of the head scratching him, and sending him over the railing into the water.

"Raph!" Donatello shouted out. He tried to move over to where he saw Raphael fall in, but the Foot Tech Amazons were too much for him. One almost clipped him with a battle ax , but Lillian's knives deflected it. In the next instant the ax came down for her, and Donatello knew that no matter how fast he moved he wasn't going to be able to block it in time.

The seconds slowed to an agonizing crawl as Donatello watched the ax blade move towards Lillian's neck.

Suddenly a sword blade came between the ax and Lillian. Surprised Donatello looked to see Leonardo calmly parrying a second attack with his other katana.

"Leo!" Donatello exclaimed amazed and delighted.

"Do me a favor, Don," Leonardo said as he tumbled out of the way, and drove back three Foot with a single slash of his katana. "The next time you go chasing mermaids, at least give me the option of saying 'no' before you go out without me."

Donatello smiled in answer, then more seriously said, "Raph went over the rail. We have to get to him!"

"Trying, Donny!" Leonardo answered back, but as usual with their dealings with The Foot, they were hopelessly outnumbered.

A glancing blow to the head made Donatello see stars, and drop to his knees. When his vision cleared he saw Lillian on her knees. The strange ninja female had her razor sharp rope around Lillian's neck.

"Surrender," the ninja said, "or watch her head roll off of these lovely shoulders."

Donatello dropped his weapon immediately. Leonardo held his blades as if unwilling to part with them.

"Do it now!" The ninja demanded.

Still Leonardo hesitated.

"Mikey will kill us if we let anything happen to Lillian," Donatello reminded his brother.

Leonardo sighed, and dropped his katana to the ground.

"Very sensible," The purple and black clad leader said. Then to The Foot Tech Amazons, she said, "take them."

As Lillian and the two ninja turtles were forced into the back of a truck. One of the Foot Tech Amazons said, "There is no sign of the third turtle, or the mermaid."

The young woman frowned and looked out to sea. "She is somewhere near, but we do not need her now. This one will tell us what we wish to know, or else her two little pets will suffer."

"I told you, you should not have aided me, Donatello," Lillian said sadly."

"It's all right, Lillian. Leonardo said. "I'd rather die then go back and tell Mikey we lost you."

Coming Soon: Sylvia

As his brothers and Lillian were being led away, Lillian turned back to the water and looked directly at Raphael.

Her gaze struck him like a blow to the head. Information began to flood his mind. It wasn't exactly words, and it wasn't really an emotion, but it was powerful, and it shook him to his soul.

Sylvia was to be protected at all costs. She was only a child. He was to keep her from danger until Michelangelo was able to take her home.


	11. Sylvia

A/N : Special thanks to pacphys for editing for me

Chapter 11 Sylvia

The blow to the head stunned Raphael, and he was unable to move as he fell into the water below. Once in contact with the brackish water of the river Raphael's cut began to burn as if it were on fire. Yet even that pain did not allow him to move.

Suddenly a pair of arms reached up, and touched his shoulders, causing his muscles to relax. One hand reached out, and touched his head. Instantly his thoughts began to clear, and the cut stopped stinging.

Huh? Raphael found that his arms and legs were working again. He tried to swim up to the surface, but the arms that had revived him, held him back.

"No, they're still fighting," a young frightened voice said. Raphael turned to the speaker, and soon found himself frozen by a pair of crystal clear ocean blue eyes.

The eyes belonged to a mermaid far younger than Lillian. Her black shoulder length hair glistened in the water. She had a sparkling silvery tube top covering her torso, and her tail was a luminous liquid green.

Raphael didn't know what to say or think. He was totally mesmerized by this small mermaid.

The girl looked at him quizzically. "You're Raphael, aren't you," she asked.

Still speechless, Raphael nodded.

The girl smiled as if aware she had him at a disadvantage. "I'm Sylvia," she said. She maneuvered closer, and kissed Raphael on the cheek.

That freed him from his paralysis. "What?" he demanded pushing her away. He thought for a second then realized who she was. "You're the one Lillian and Donny were looking for. The one who isn't supposed to be up here."

"I had to come," Sylvia said defensively. "Mike was hurt bad! I had to help!"

"How did you know that Mikey got hurt?" Raphael wasn't even sure how Lillian had found out yet.

"We're linked of course," she said as if it were obvious. "I felt it when Mike got hurt. Then Lillian came for the healing waters so I knew that he was hurt bad. I couldn't not help him! He's my best friend. "

A shadow above made Raphael grab on to the young mermaid, and pulled her with him into the shadows of the docks. Above them they heard the leader of The Foot Tech Amazons.

"She is somewhere near, but we do not need her now. This one will tell us what we wish to know, or else her two little pets will suffer."

"Two?" Raphael asked. He drew closer to the surface to the water. Bound in chains above him were Donatello and Leonardo. Across from his brothers Lillian stood proudly surrounded by Foot Tech Amazons.

From behind him, Raphael felt Sylvia move. "Lillian! Raphael, we have to get her!" She tried to swim past him, but Raphael grabbed onto her arm.

"Whoah! Slow down, Small Fry," Raphael said. "If we go after Lillian now, we'll just get caught too!" He looked up at the group again.

As his brothers and Lillian were being led away, Lillian turned back to the water, and looked directly at Raphael.

Her gaze struck him like a blow to the head. Information began to flood his mind. It wasn't exactly words, and it wasn't really an emotion, but it was powerful, and it shook him to his soul.

Sylvia was to be protected at all costs. She was only a child. He was to keep her from danger until Michelangelo was able to take her home.

As Raphael reeled under Lillian's silent request, Sylvia argued in his ear. "But we gotta save Lillian, Don, and Leo!"

"How do you know our names?" Raphael asked as he pulled her further under the water.

Sylvia struggled briefly in Raphael's arms. "Mike told me," she said. "Mike tells me everything about the surface. He told me about television, movies, video games, all the surface music. He told me all about being a ninja too and a warrior. He told me everything!"

"Well I hope he told you about thinking before you act," Raphael said grinning at the irony of it. "There are too many Foot Amazons out there. We need to find out where they're going, and come back with reinforcements."

Sylvia thought about that for a few seconds. "I guess you're right," she said reluctantly, "but how are we going to track them?"

The water was clear enough for once, that above the rippling surface Raphael could see the seagulls perched along the docks. Suddenly he had an idea. "Hey kid, can you talk to sea gulls the way Mikey can?"

The expression she gave him made Raphael wonder if she wasn't going to laugh in his face. "Please!" she said with a toss of her head. "Who do you think taught him?" At that moment her face brightened. "I get it! We ask the gulls to watch where they go!"

"Raphael nodded. "Can you do it without being heard or seen?"

Eagerly the girl nodded. She signaled to Raphael to go up to the surface. As they reached the top of the water, Sylvia paused, and only stuck the top of her head past the surface. Every so silently she looked up at the sea gulls. For several seconds Raphael swore the very air and water around them grew thicker with the tension. The seagulls stopped preening and squawking at each other, and watched the pair intently. Suddenly the tension broke. Four gulls cawed loudly, and flew away in the direction The Foot had gone.

Sylvia now ducked back down under the water. "They said they'd would follow and watch for your brothers and Lilian."

"Good girl," Raphael said. "Now we go back to the lair, and see if Master Splinter can give us a hand.

Sylvia's eyes nearly popped out of her head with excitement. "I'm gonna get to meet Master Splinter? And maybe Casey? And April?"

Despite the danger Raphael had to laugh as he held up a hand to hold off her questions. "Hang on, Small Fry. Casey's out of town right now, but April's been helping us out at the lair. She's probably still there."

"Yippie!" Sylvia said wagging her tail excitedly. "Lets go!"

"Hang on, kid," Raphael said. "Can we pick an overland route? I can't breathe underwater the way you can."

Sylvia gave Raphael an amused glance and this time did laugh at him. "Mike is right, you are dense." Before Raphael could demand why Sylvia said. "Take a look around you Raph! You've been underwater with me for twenty minutes."

Raphael blinked, and looked around. "But how?" He asked puzzled. "I can't, but I'm breathing? How?"

Sylvia laughed again. "Any mermaid can fix it so that anyone with them can be underwater as long as we can. As long as you're with me we can stay under for as long as you like!"

Raphael wasn't sure what to think about that. Finally he just shrugged, and said, "In that case what are we waiting for? Lets take a swim."

Sylvia must have been waiting for that. For she grasped Raphael firmly by his wrist, and began to pull him swiftly through the water, and into a flooded storm drain.

As the pair drew closer to the pond in the lair Raphael turned back to Sylvia. "Wait here," he said firmly. "I wanna see what's changed since Don and me took off. There's no sense making things more complicated by adding another mermaid to the mix.

Sylvia bit her lower lip in frustration, but nodded in agreement. Raphael poked his head above water, and as he had been taught listened as well as looked. April and Splinter were by the video monolith. Michelangelo was now sitting up on the couch, looking far better than he had before. He was active and alert and arguing with Splinter and April.

"Sensei, you don't understand! It wasn't a nightmare. Mermaids have this telepathic thing going on. I've been around Lillian so long I can read her thoughts, and I know when she's in trouble. Something's happened to her out there, guys and I've got to help her." He tried to get to his feet, but April pushed him back down again.

"Healing water or no, you're not rushing off just because of a nightmare. You just woke up ten minutes ago!" April insisted.

Raphael thought it was a nice sentiment, but he knew he was going to need Michelangelo's help if they were going to rescue the others. He got out of the water slowly, and sat on the edge of the pond. "Sorry April, but if Mikey's feeling up to it, we've got to get his girlfriend out of the Foot's goldfish bowl, not to mention Don and Leo."

The others all turned to face him.

"Raph!" April cried out with relief.

Splinter got right down to business. "Raphael, tell us what has happened."

Raphael began. "We caught up to Lillian, but the Foot were all over the place. I got knocked into the water. By the time I came too the Foot had Lillian, Leo and Don. "

"Leonardo woke soon after you and Donatello left," Splinter said gently. "He was most upset at being left behind."

Raphael clenched his fists, and tried to make an effort not to grit his teeth. "You know why we left him, sensei. You can't say we were wrong."

"I did not say that you and Donatello were wrong, my son," Splinter explained. "I only wish to tell you that your actions caused him grief."

"Wait a minute," Michelangelo said, frowning slightly. "You and Don left Leo behind?"

"Leo left you behind when he only had a hint of mermaid activity," Raphael said testily. "Don figured that since we were actually chasing Lillian this time we didn't want Leo freezing up on us."

"But what about the other mermaid that Lillian went to find?" April asked.

Raphael blushed slightly. "Um yeah, about that, well I guess she's the reason I didn't drown when the Foot knocked me into the water." Then he looked down into the pond, and called to her gently. "Come on, Small Fry. Come out and say hi."

Sylvia's head popped out of the water. from his vantage point above the pond Raphael could see Sylvia's tail transform into legs. She then took out a small piece of gauzy fabric which she slipped around her waist. Once clothed she began to climb out of the water.

Sylvia?" A very surprised Michelangelo asked. Before anyone could stop him, he was at the pond helping the young mermaid to her newly formed feet.

"Sylvia, what in the name of Triton's beard are you doing here?" Michelangelo asked. There was something funny about the way Michelangelo was talking that caught Raphael's attention.

"I wanted to help you," Sylvia said defensively. "I could sense that you were hurt. When Lillian came back to the surface I followed her, but lost her when she went into sewers, and I couldn't track you when the healing waters sent you to sleep."

Michelangelo folded his arms across his chest, and glared sternly at the young mermaid. "That is no excuse, young lady. You know you're not supposed to be within a hundred yards of the surface or the shore, and that's doubly true now with all The Foot looking for your temple. Your grandmother is so gonna have a whale when she finds out!"

April handed Raphael a towel absently as they were both staring in shock at Michelangelo. "Raph who is this mermaid? She's got Mikey sounding like Leo." April said.

"I don't think it's her, April," Raphael said equally as puzzled. "Look at the kid. She obviously isn't enjoying it. It's the way he's talking that's got me wondering."

"Michelangelo has obviously adopted idioms common to the mermaids that he has not used in our presence before." Splinter said, not at all perturbed by Michelangelo's new attitude. "It also appears we owe the mermaids a debt of gratitude for teaching your brother some responsibility."

April smiled. "My dad always said that being responsible for someone else makes you grow up fast."

Michelangelo was finishing his lecture with Sylvia. "No, we are going to find the nearest axis way to the sea, and get you home before every fish and shore bird in the city comes looking for you!"

"No, we can't," Sylvia protested. "Raph, you have to tell him about Lillian and the others!"

Michelangelo snapped around to look at Raphael, April, and Splinter. A copper flush colored his cheeks, but he kept his voice steady as he asked, "Raph?"

Not one to mince words Raphael said, "Lillian, Leo, and Don got taken in by those new girl Foot we've been watching. They were after her." He pointed at Sylvia. "I would have gone after them myself, but Lillian pulled some whammy on my head. She told me that Sylvia's got to be my top priority. She wanted me to keep her safe at all costs."

"I'm kinda glad she did, bro," Michelangelo said pensively. "If anything had happened to Sylvia I don't know what I'd tell Benten"

Splinter nodded with recognition. "Benten, she is the leader of the mermaid colony. Is she not?"

"Yeah," Michelangelo said holding Sylvia close to him. "Sylvia's her granddaughter. Her mom is working in a colony in Hawaii." His forehead wrinkled in thought for a moment, then he turned to the young mermaid. "Siv, go up to the last room on the left, and find the box with the toys you girls have given me over the years. The flute is there so you'll be able to find it."

Sylvia nodded, and raced for the steps to Michelangelo's room. Once she was out of sight Michelangelo deflated, and looked back at the others.

"Sensei, what am I going to do? I can't take Sylvia into Foot territory, but I can't leave Lil trapped!"

Splinter nodded. "It is a dilemma. Surely the mermaid and your brothers must be attended to."

"She can stay with me in The Battle-shell," April suggested. "We'll be safe enough there."

"And I shall accompany you as well," Splinter said. "Without Leonardo and Raphael, you will need assistance."

Michelangelo glanced up to his room where Sylvia still was. He bit his lip and then said. "Sensei, if you're coming along to stop me from taking Lil and Siv back to their colony when this is all over, don't bother. I've got to get them back into the water and back home as soon as Lillian and the others are free."

"Mikey!" Raphael said worriedly. "Stop talking crazy! You can't go back with them!"

With a deep heavy sigh, Splinter said, "No, Raphael. Michelangelo is right. As soon as the mermaids are free they must get as far away from The Foot as possible. Sylvia is unable to defend herself, and we do not know if the elder mermaid is injured or not. They will need an escort to their home."

Michelangelo relaxed. "I'm glad you understand, sensei. You don't have to worry about me you know. I'm a regular mutant homing pigeon. I'll come back. I always have."

At that moment Sylvia came back with a miniature treasure chest compete with brass fittings. "It this it Mike?" She asked.

Michelangelo opened the box. Inside there was a coral flute similar to the one April owned. There was also some necklaces with shells on them, a larger flute made of ivory, and a single pink pearl the size of a ping pong ball. Reaching for the pearl he held it up so that it glowed in the dim lighting of the lair. "You got it, sweet thing. Now here's what we're going to do."

Coming Soon Chapter 12 The Rescue

When he moved to join the two mermaids, Leonardo asked in his sternest voice, "Michelangelo, where are you going?"

Michelangelo looked over his shoulder at Leonardo. "With them," he said, then before Leonardo could get another word out, Michelangelo looked over to Splinter. "We talked about this, sensei. You know I have to go."

Splinter nodded, but everyone could tell he was not happy. "Leonardo, your brother is correct. He must help his friends get to their temple. We should not prevent him from aiding them."

Leonardo frowned at that. "Sensei, are you sure about this?"

Still unsettled about it but determined, Splinter answered. "Yes I am sure."

"Well I'm not," Raphael suddenly added. Before the others could say anything he jumped out of the van, and joined Michelangelo with the mermaids. "I'm going with him."

Leonardo sighed exasperated. "Raph!"

"Don't try to talk me out of it, Leo," Raphael said. "One of us should be going with Mikey anyway to make sure he comes back."

"Talk about the wrong turtle going along then," Donatello muttered under his breath.

April then noticed some blips on the Battle Shell's tracker. "Don, we've got multiple blips showing up."

"The Foot," Leonardo said.

"That settles it," Raphael said. "We don't have time to argue, Leo. I'm going, and you're not stopping me." With that he dove into the water, and surfaced looking at Michelangelo and the two mermaids. "You guys coming or what?"

Michelangelo glanced at Raphael, but Lillian said, "it will be all right. We can look after him. We have to go now."

Michelangelo glanced back at Splinter who nodded once. "Be careful Michelangelo, and return soon."

As the two mermaids jumped into the water Michelangelo said with his famous grin, "Don't worry Master Splinter, Raph and I will be back before you have time to miss us!" With that he also jumped into the water. Seconds later the water was still as if no one had been there.


	12. The Rescue

A/N : Special thanks to pacphys for editing for me

Chapter 12 The Rescue

The first thing Donatello was aware of was the pain. It was felt as if a part of his skull was cracked and expanding.

Easy, a strange voice flowed through his mind, taking some of the hurt with it. Your skull is unbroken, though I am sure that you feel I am wrong. As soon as you feel able too, you may wish to reassure your brother, Leonardo. He is very worried.

Leo? Donatello now made an effort to open his eyes and rise to a seated position. A while new set of pains eventually convinced him to lie still.

"Easy Donny," Leonardo's voice cautioned. "That new Foot Ninja clocked you but good."

Now he remembered. Leonardo had been looking for a way to escape since they had first been captured. The strange new female ninja dressed in black and purple had noticed, and had struck out at Leonardo. When Donatello tried to protect Leonardo she had clocked him with his own bo. Suddenly a thought occurred to him. Had Lillian gotten hurt during the scuffle?

I am unhurt, my friend, again Lillian's soft voice filtered into his mind. And I can sense that despite your discomfort, you are not badly hurt.

"It just feels that way," Donatello finally answered her.

"Don, wake up you're dreaming," Leonardo said. Through the aches that were fading. Donatello opened his eyes to see Leonardo sitting next to him.

"Leo?" Donatello asked uncertainly.

"I'm here, bro," Leonardo said softly. Donatello struggled to sit up. He felt arms come around his shoulders a Leonardo tried to support him.

"Take it easy Don," Leonardo said. "She really got you good. You might have a concession.

"Lillian said, I was okay," Donatello answered him. He took a good look at his surroundings. He and Leonardo were in a prison of clear plexiglass. It was only big enough for both turtles to sit in comfortably. Wires were laced all around the floors walls and roof. There were no cracks crevices, hidden spaces or apparent joints. Lillian was no where to be seen.

"Lillian?" Leonardo asked worriedly. Donatello watched as Leonardo eyed him up and down. "You couldn't have possibly have heard her. She's over there."

"Leonardo pointed. Donatello rubbed his eyes, and followed Leonardo's finger to where Lillian sat in a similar cube. Both of the cubes were seated on pedestal's in an area that strongly resembled the research genetics lab they had seen underground and in the Shredder's building.

"I've tried communicating with her," Leonardo said, "but I can't hear anything."

"This chamber is probably soundproof," Donatello speculated. "Or at least hers is. If all The Foot here were able to hear her sing we wouldn't be captives for very long." Still he was puzzled. "But I could have sworn..."

You did hear me, my friend, Lillian's voice was echoing in his mind. My kind can communicate with others through thought. I did not wish to frighten Leonardo so I did not use thought speech to talk with him.

Donatello understood that. Leonardo had been very touchy about Lillian since he had first met her. Best he not know that Lillian could transmit her thoughts into his head. Leonardo would wonder what else she was putting into his head. Donatello wondered if Lillian could read his thoughts as well.

Yes I can, Lillian replied smugly. If you wish you need only think a question and I can answer.

"Don?" Leonardo asked concerned.

"I'm okay, Leo," Donatello answered. "I was just thinking." He couldn't argue with Lillian's arguments. If Leo knew that he could communicate with Lillian telepathically Leonardo would worry about her controlling his mind.

Leonardo nodded and sighted pensively. "Escaping won't be easy. I can't see a way to pick the lock, and their watching us." Leonardo pointed, and Donatello could see a small camera mounted in a corner. He nodded silently.

I can see no way to escape either. Lillian said softly into his mind. Perhaps -

She stopped sending abruptly. Before Donatello could ask her why the door to the laboratory opened. Hun entered first followed by the female ninja in her black and purple. She took her place at the control panel out of Donatello's view.

Finally The Shredder entered the room. At his side was a middle aged woman with mouse brown hair, and deep brown eyes. She slinked like a cat leaning on Shredder as if she were a cloak around his shoulders.

If only she knew, Donatello thought with a grin.

The younger female at the control panel manipulated the controls, and sound returned to Leonardo's and Donatello's world. Shredder ignored the turtles to focus on Lillian.

"So," he said slowly looking Lillian up and down. "This is a mermaid. She is very lovely."

Lillian sat as straight as she could in the cramped enclosure, and looked back at Shredder sadly. "Please, my kind and I are a peaceful people. We mean you no harm. You do not wish to wage war against us."

Shredder sneered at Lillian. "My dear, I am not going to wage war against your people. They will either give my agents what I want, or they will be obliterated."

"No!" Lillian pressed her hands against the glass and stared right at the Shredder. "You cannot do this to my people. You do not want to do this!"

Donatello watched in fascination, not Shredder, but Hun. As Lillian became more frantic Hun's face became more and more distressed.

"You will not allow my people to come to harm." Lillian said forcefully.

Automatically Hun repeated the statement. "I will not allow your people to come to harm."

Shredder snapped around clearly angry. Donatello couldn't help himself a smirk played across his face. Hun didn't even stand a chance. Even though Lillian was not paying attention to him or Leonardo, Donatello could still feel the pull to repeat the words himself.

The Shredder glared at Hun visibly angry. "What did you say?" He snapped.

Completely unconscious of the fact that he was being influenced, Hun turned to his master, and said, "We should not be waging war upon the mermaids. They are a peaceful people."

"Is Hun even aware that he's repeating what Lillian said word for word?" Leonardo whispered to Donatello.

Donatello shook his head "I don't think so. Lil's really turning up the juice. Are you feeling this too?"

Leonardo nodded grimly, then they both turned back to the confrontation.

"I cannot allow you to harm her!" Hun said. He advanced on the Shredder fist clenched, ready to strike.

Suddenly the younger of the two woman lashed out with her razor sharp manriki guisari and easily restrained him.

"Take him out of here!" Shredder said to the girl. The young female looked at her mistress. When the older woman nodded the girl opened the door and summoned several female Foot Tech Ninjas who aided her in dragging Hun out of the room.

"I told you it was a mistake to let him see her, Saki," the elder woman said.

Shredder nodded. "I know Badb, but I wanted to see how this creature could turn my most loyal followers against me." Shredder glared at the mermaid angrily. "It appears that they can."

"You do not wish to wage war against my people either, Shredder," Lillian said again firmly.

The Shredder merely looked at Lillian. A self satisfied superior grin spread across his face.

Donatello sighed. "You're wasting your time, Lillian," he explained. "He may look it, but The Shredder isn't human by any stretch of the imagination. He isn't even humanoid. I don't think your abilities are going to work on him. "

"Oh?" Even Badb was surprised at that. "He's not human, you say? Saki, you sly thing. Keeping secrets from me? " She slid up to him and draped herself against his left side. Shredder acknowledged her cooly.

"Now," Shredder said, ignoring Badb. "You will tell us the location of your temple, or you shall watch as your turtle friends are tortured until you do."

"Don't tell, Lillian," Donatello said warningly. "The Shredder will kill us anyway."

"Of course," The Shredder said with a low chuckle." "But there are many ways to die." He sneered at Lillian. "If you do not tell me what I want to know, the screams of your friends will haunt your dreams forever."

At that Lillian grew angry. "Why? Why do you relish causing pain to my charges."

Shredder glared at Leonardo and Donatello in their cage. "Your charges have interfered often enough to give me cause to relish their suffering. That doing so will gain me the location of your temple is simply icing on the cake."

"Lillian," Leonardo said slowly and firmly. "No matter what he does to us, don't betray your people. Nothing he can do to us is worth helping him to destroy your people."

"Brave words, Leonardo," Shredder said slyly. I wonder if you'll be able to say them again when I take you apart piece by piece." He pressed a button on the control panel. Suddenly Donatello and Leonardo felt as if their very nerves were on fire. The tiny wires lacing the floor were suddenly carrying a live electric current.

Donatello cried out in pain. Leonardo, expecting something like this, gritted his teeth. He refused to give the Shredder the satisfaction of crying out. Even so a second cry joined. Donatello's. It was Lillian crying out when she felt their pain. She was outraged at this attack. Her eyes flashed a brilliant emerald green, and she glared forcefully at the Shredder.

To Donatello's amazement The Shredder cried out, and took a step back, surprised. He blinked and put his hands over his stomach.

So, you may not be able to charm him, but your powers are good for something, Donatello thought at Lillian with a smile.

Lillian smiled as well. "So you are not so invincible after all. Be warned Oroku Saki, The Earth knows you, and she does not tolerate such cruelty to her children. Continue on your path, and the Earth will act against you."

The Shredder glared at the saucy mermaid, but a whisper from Badb calmed him. "A bold move my dear," Shredder said with a low chuckle. "But it will not free you, or save your little pets." He spun sharply around on his heel and was gone. Badb followed as did the girl, but first she readjusted the controls of their cages restoring the sound proofing.

Leonardo relaxed a bit relieved that he could no longer hear Lillian's voice, but Donatello wanted to talk to her. He could still feel Lillian's dismay.

If I tell he will kill you. If I do not tell he will torture, and then kill you. What am I going to do?

Lillian, Donatello thought back determined. don't dishonor us by betraying your people. No matter what happens to us, you can't tell the Shredder the way to your temple. I don't need to be able to read his mind to know Leo feels the same way.

As if to affirm Donatello's statement Leonardo said, "We can't let Lillian tell the

Shredder where her temple is'

"I know," Donatello answered. "I can't imagine those ancient powerful weapons in the Shredder's hands.

Leonardo nodded gravely and the two sat in silence trying to think of a way to escape.

Raphael watched amazed as Sylvia held a conversation with a small very ordinary rat in the sewer tunnel underneath the warehouse where the gulls had insisted the others had been taken. Mermaids talking to seagulls made sense. Mermaids talking to rats didn't at least not right away.

"Rats have been at sea as long as human beings," Sylvia said patiently as her song drew five of the furry rodents. "But unlike humans who never figured out the sea song, the rats learned it, so their considered under our protection." She listened and whispered a bit more to the rats who all nodded like little children and scampered off. "They've agreed!" She said happily. "They will chew at the wiring of the building and cause things to go wrong."

Raphael relaxed at that. "Okay Small Fry, back to the Battle Shell with you. I have to catch up with Mikey and Master Splinter." They had gone ahead to scout the warehouse to try to find the others. April was waiting for Sylvia in the Battle Shell.

Sylvia sighed, but didn't argue as he led them back to the street where the Battle Shell was parked two blocks form the wear house. As they passed close to the building Sylvia stopped in her tracks. "Raph!" she said excitedly. "I can sense Lillian, and the others, I can -"

"Hold on there, Small Fry," Raphael said. "Finding Lil and the others is Mikey's job, not yours. You're job is to get into the Battle Shell, stay there with April and keep your tail in one piece. Got it?"

"But Raph-" Sylvia tried to say, but Raphael wouldn't hear any of it.

"But nothing! You are getting into that van, and your going to keep your tail down and your mouth shut until we get back! Understand!"

Sylvia deflated. "Yes Raph," she said, then climbed into the back of the Battle Shell.

Before April followed her inside Raphael asked, "Yo April, do you think you can handle her?"

"I'll manage," April said with a smile. "I'll try to do some female bonding with her while you're out saving the others."

Raphael nodded and began to turn away from the Battle Shell confidant that April would take care of Sylvia, when suddenly he heard April's panicked cry calling him back. "Raph! She's gone!"

Raphael spun back around and jumped into the Van with April. "Gone? Gone where?"

The open door in the front of the Battle shell was the only answer he got.

"Trust a kid Mikey takes care of to say one thing and do another," Raphael grumbled. He then got on his shell cell. "Yo Mikey, your goldfish just flew the coop!"

"Sylvia's missing?" Michelangelo asked. "Raph, you were supposed to be watching her!"

"I was putting her in the Battle Shell, and she slipped out the other way." Raphael shot back nettled. "She's probably heading your way. She said something about being able to sense Lillian."

He heard Michelangelo sigh on his end. "Okay, Raph. Come on and join the party out here, and start fishing for Sylvia. She'll probably lead you right to the others."

"Will do, Mikey." Raphael said. Then he turned to the April. "You stay here in case our little goldfish comes back. I'm going to join Mikey, and hope I run into the kid."

"Good luck," April said, as she donned the headset to her Shell Cel,l and took a seat at the control panel.

"I swear that girl is going to make me old before my time," Michelangelo complained as he shut down the Shell Cell. A glance over to his sensei told Michelangelo that Splinter was trying to keep from laughing. "What?" He asked sharply.

A smile still on his lips Splinter said, "It is nothing, my son. If your young friend can sense her elder as you can we shall find the girl soon enough."

"I know, I just worry about her," Michelangelo said. He quieted his mind and listened for Lillian again. She was only twenty yards away, behind a door at the end of a corridor. As Michelangelo signaled to Splinter to start moving, a small figured came out of another door in front of their target.

It was Sylvia.

"Now to teach my wayward fish a lesson in listening. Michelangelo muttered with a grin. Before Splinter could stop him Michelangelo vanished into a shadow, and crept up as close as he could to Sylvia. In a flash he had her restrained, and her mouth covered. She tried to scream and struggle for a few second until Michelangelo whispered in her ear. "Siv, relax, it's me!" She relaxed, and Michelangelo released her. Raphael came out of the shadows just as Sylvia turned on Michelangelo.

"Mike?" She shouted a whisper. "What are you trying to do? Scare me to death!"

"He's trying to teach you a lesson, Small Fry," Raphael said. "You should consider yourself lucky that it was Mikey that jumped you and not The Foot!"

Sylvia looked at Michelangelo who nodded then turned to Splinter who had just joined them. "Sensei, can you watch her for me?"

"I shall. I do not think she would be so foolish as to escape my care." Splinter glowered at the girl, who sighed.

Michelangelo examined the lock of the door then glanced up at Raphael with a grin. "Care to do the honors, bro?"

Raphael's grin matched Michelangelo's. "I thought you'd never ask." His sai went into the lock, and in seconds they were in the room.

They found themselves in a laboratory with more computers than anything else. In the center of the room were two plexiglass cages completely sealed and soundproof. Inside of the one on the left was Lillian, and in the one on the right was Donatello and Leonardo.

If Mikey was here he'd be complaining about his stomach right about now, Donatello thought absently as he stared at the door. He was hungry too, but it was pointless to complain about it. It wasn't like The Foot were going to give them a last meal.

"You okay, Don?" Leonardo asked worriedly.

He had been quiet again for too long. "As all right as can be expected," he reminded his brother. "I just hate the waiting."

I wish there was a way I could free you, my friends, Lillian thought to him from her cube. "I do not wish you to die, and they will kill you to try to get me to tell them the location of the temple.

Don't bother telling them anyway, Lil, Donatello warned her. The Shredder will just kill us anyway. He's wanted us dead for a long time. You telling him won't change that.

"I hate waiting too," Leonardo said. He still didn't hear Lillian. She still wouldn't send her thoughts to him. Leonardo glared at their weapons on the table nearby. They might has well been in the lair for all the good they did if they could not reach them. "If only we could find a way out of here."

Suddenly Donatello heard Lillian's voice inside his head again. Donatello, I sense Michelangelo and Raphael. They are close.

Can you tell how close? Donatello thought back.

I am not sure, but very– Suddenly Lillian sat up in her cube, and pressed her hands against the glass in agitation. Sharks and eels! They brought her with them?

"What?" Donatello asked forgetting to think the question. "Lillian what's wrong?"

"Donny, she can't hear us," Leonardo tried to remind him.

The door at that moment opened. Michelangelo and Raphael flanked the room with their weapons drawn. A second later Master Splinter walked in guiding a young mermaid Leonardo had not seen before.

"Oh Mikey," Donatello muttered.

Raphael moved over to their cube, and tried to talk to them. Leonardo shook his head no, and pointed to his ears. Hopefully Raphael would realize that they couldn't hear him. Michelangelo had gone over to the mermaid's cage, and was waving his hands around and shaking his head. Leonardo read his lips to see that Michelangelo was saying, 'not my fault not my fault.' The mermaid glared at him for a second but Michelangelo stood his ground and pointed to the young girl glaring at her for a moment before returning his attention to Lillian.

Lillian sighed and then looked at the girl, who glared back as well. Michelangelo said something to the young mermaid then, and she deflated.

"Looks like someone wasn't supposed to come with them," Leonardo said.

"Not if they don't want the Foot to get her." Donatello said. Raphael had found the control panel, and had called Michelangelo over to it. Both of them looked at it for several seconds and shook their head worriedly.

They can't figure out how to open our containers, Lillian said pensively. We must hurry if we are to escape The Foot!

If there was only a way for me to see the panel, Donatello thought. He knew that he would be able to understand the technology.

Lillian suddenly turned, and faced Donatello directly. She had not done so before. Donatello, would you allow Sylvia to enter your mind? She can show you the image of the controls, and you would be able to explain to her what to do.

"That might just work," Donatello answered, again forgetting to only think his words.

Leonardo was growing ancy. "Don, what are you talking about?" He asked.

The young mermaid had come forward to the cage. She nodded once at Donatello. He copied the gesture. They then locked eyes, but suddenly he found Leonardo blocking his gaze.

"Whatever you want to do to Don, you'll have to do it to me first," Leonardo said warningly. Sylvia looked up at him and shook her head sadly. Donatello pushed Leonardo away annoyed.

"Leo, they need to show me something. Mermaids are telepathic with sea creatures. I need to see what they're looking at. I'll be okay, really."

Leonardo sat back and frowned, but he didn't interfere again when Sylvia came forward and locked eyes with Donatello.

The moment he looked into Sylvia's eyes he felt a calm settle over him. There was nothing to worry about just do the job they needed him to do. Everything was fine. Reflexively he closed his eyes, and allowed the image of the control panel flow into his mind.

"Yes, I understand now," Donatello whispered. He knew full well the mermaid could hear his thoughts. In his mind he read the panel then thought back his instructions. "Make the dial go up to four hundred then pull the blue lever down," he said. The girl quickly obeyed him and Lillian's cage swung open.

"Good girl," Donatello said, still with his eyes closed. "Now do the same on the right side with the red lever." In seconds they heard the click of the lock on their enclosure.

Donatello jumped out of the cage, and instantly joined Sylvia at the control panel. "Great job," he said gently. The girl looked over at Lillian who drew the girl in for a hug.

"You are very disobedient to have come up here and risk capture," Lillian said sternly. "Your grandmother will be very displeased."

"I had to come to see Mike," Sylvia insisted. "You know I had too."

Lillian shook her head. "You two are far more bonded than anyone imagines aren't you?" Lillian glanced over at Michelangelo who simply smiled and shrugged.

"Hold it down!" Raphael said as he listened at the door. "Someone's coming!"

Leonardo grabbed the weapons. Michelangelo grabbed Lillian, Splinter did the same to Sylvia, and all of them went into hiding instantly. The door to the lab opened, and Shredder and Badb entered. Neither looked happy.

"Gone!" Shredder demanded. "How can they have escaped?"

"I should have known better than to trust your guards to keep them, Saki!" Badb said harshly.

"It is no matter, Badb," Shredder said calming down. "My scouts have already located the temple of Aegir. Already your squadron of Foot Tech Amazons are assembling for an all out assault. Very soon, Badb, the temple, and all of it's power, will be ours."

The two wandered out of the room leaving the door half open. Leonardo wasn't fooled for a second. He signaled the others to wait a full fifteen minutes before moving to see if the room war guarded outside. He didn't see any guards so he signaled the others to come out of hiding.

"This is terrible!" Lillian said. "They are going to attack the temple anyway! "

"We gotta get down there first and warn them!" Michelangelo said nodding.

Raphael nodded too, and activated his shell cell's head set. "We're all set April. Come and get us." The six of them moved to the back of the warehouse where April drove up. One by one they all piled into the Battle Shell and drove away.

"That was easy," Donatello said relieved.

Splinter's face was grave though. "Perhaps too easy."

"Perhaps, Master Splinter," Lillian said, bowing her head politely, "but my younger sister and I must return to our home and warn our people of this attack."

Splinter nodded, but his face was very sad. "Of course."

Michelangelo had moved up next to April. "Pull up here April, by the docks," he said. When she had pulled up as close to the water as she could, Michelangelo opened the door of the van, and helped Lillian and Sylvia out of The Battle Shell.

When he moved to join the two mermaids, Leonardo asked, in his sternest voice, "Michelangelo, where are you going?"

Michelangelo looked over his shoulder at Leonardo. "With them," he said. Before Leonardo could get another word out, Michelangelo looked over to Splinter. "We talked about this, sensei. You know I have to go."

Splinter nodded, but everyone could tell he was not happy. "Leonardo, your brother is correct. He must help his friends get to their temple. We should not prevent him from aiding them."

Leonardo frowned at that. "Sensei, are you sure about this?"

Still unsettled about it, but determined, Splinter answered. "Yes, I am sure."

"Well I'm not," Raphael suddenly added. Before the others could say anything he jumped out of the van and joined Michelangelo with the mermaids. "I'm going with him."

Leonardo sighed exasperated. "Raph!"

"Don't try to talk me out of it, Leo," Raphael said. "One of us should be going with Mikey anyway to make sure he comes back."

"Talk about the wrong turtle going along then," Donatello muttered under his breath.

April then noticed some blips on the Battle Shell's tracker. "Don, we've got multiple blips showing up."

"The Foot," Leonardo said.

"That settles it," Raphael said. "We don't have time to argue, Leo. I'm going, and you're not stopping me." With that he dove into the water, and surfaced looking at Michelangelo and the two mermaids. "You guys coming, or what?"

Michelangelo glanced at Raphael, but Lillian said, "it will be all right. We can look after him. We have to go now."

Michelangelo glanced back at Splinter who nodded once. "Be careful, Michelangelo, and return soon."

As the two mermaids jumped into the water Michelangelo said with his famous grin, "Don't worry, Master Splinter. Raph and I will be back before you have time to miss us!" With that he also jumped into the water. Seconds later the water was still as if no one had been there.

"The Foot are getting close," April said. "We'd better hurry."

As she drove away Leonardo looked completely distraught. "I feel as if I just left part of myself back there."

Donatello put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "It will be all right, Leo. Mikey and Raph can take care of themselves."

"I know," Leonardo said sadly. "But I wish....I just wish..." Leonardo wasn't able to voice the emotion he was feeling at the moment. Instead he drew his katana and did two ready moves. Donatello smiled. Usually Raphael did that to burn of nervous energy.

Suddenly Leonardo stopped, and looked at his katana worriedly. "Something's wrong, it's balance is off. Upon a closer inspection Leonardo found a small electronic device hidden in the folds of his blades wrappings. Checking the other katana he found a similar device. "Don, check your bo!"

Donatello began to examine the bo carefully, and found the same thing. "It's some kind of Foot tracking device, but if they bugged us...."

"Then they may have done the same to Lillian's daggers." Leonardo said, growing more worried by the second. "They let us escape!"

"What?" Donatello asked, but Splinter nodded.

"They allowed you to escape with the false report that they knew the location of the mermaid's temple. The warning Michelangelo, Raphael and their friends are going to give will be a trap."

Donatello understood. "If Lil's daggers are bugged, she'll lead the Foot right to her temple! We've got to stop them!"

"Too late to stop them," Leonardo said. "I remember when I was with Lillian she could enable me to breath under the water with her. Without a mermaid to help us, we'd never survive underwater, much less find their hidden temple."

"Finding their temple isn't the problem," Donatello said evenly. "Remember I bugged Mikey with a sliver from the underground crystals. I can use the scanner to track Mikey the same way The Foot are tracking Lillian."

"Now all you guys have to do is learn how to breath under water," April said with a wry grin.

"Not a problem," Donatello answered. " If The Foot are planning an all out assault of the temple there is one thing they should have that we can borrow. April, let me drive."

To the other's surprise Donatello drove them almost back to where they had been held prisoner. Behind the warehouse were boxes of scuba type gear, including what Donatello was looking for. He took two large head pieces, and raced back to the Battle Shell.

"Exactly what I was looking for," Donatello announced. "Artificial gills. All I have to do is adjust them so they'll fit us."

"What about waterproofing your tracker?" April asked. Donatello laughed at the suggestion.

"April, once I knew we were dealing with real live mermaids, I waterproofed all my gear. I'll be ready as soon as I finish these adjustments. You'd better get ready for a long trip underwater too Leo."

Leonardo nodded, though he seemed very apprehensive. Splinter came over, and put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Are you all right, my son?"

"What am I going to do, sensei?" Leonardo's voice dropped slightly. He didn't want Donatello to know how he felt. "I was going half crazy when we were trapped. I could feel everything Lillian was trying to do to The Foot. What am I going to do if I'm down there with a whole bunch of mermaids?"

"I understand your apprehension about the mermaids, Leonardo," Splinter said comfortingly. "But you must also remember that we are still in their debt." Splinter raised his hand, and Leonardo followed it to where Donatello sat working on the artificial gills.

Leonardo flushed embarrassed. "I had forgotten. Lillian saved Donny's life when we were children."

"If you cannot trust your instincts about the mermaids," Splinter instructed him, "Then trust what we know is true. They have aided us when we needed them. They healed you and Raphael when you were ill. Even if you feel you cannot trust them, they have earned that trust."

Leonardo nodded. "You're right of course sensei. We have to help them."

"Remember, Leonardo," Splinter said. "The enemy of our enemy is our friend. That the Shredder has chosen to make the mermaids his enemy means that they shall be our allies against him, and as our allies we should aid them."

That settled him more. He knew that Splinter was right.

"Okay they're all set," Donatello said, with one last turn of his screwdriver. "Leo tell me if this fits. "

Donatello handed Leonardo the mask, and Leonardo carefully put it on, adjusting the straps. The mask was a little more snug than he would have preferred, but it was comfortable enough. "That's good," he said to Donatello.

"It may be a little tight, but it has to keep the water out," Donatello explained. He checked the Battle Shell's scanner. "Mikey is heading South West, towards Staten Island. Donatello then turned to Leonardo and Master Splinter. "Are you ready?"

Leonardo took a deep breath. "Yeah, I'm ready Don." He said. He then faced Splinter. "We'll be back Sensei."

"I know you will, my son," The aged rat said affectionately. He drew Leonardo and Donatello both in for a hug. "Be careful," he said, then watched as the last of his children moved over to the docks, and disappeared into the water.

Coming Soon Chapter 13

Michelangelo and the mermaids circled the railing, Raphael who was at the tail of the line moved forward to stand between his brother and the Mermaid leader Benten. Silvia stood at her grandmother's other side. To Raphael's surprise Michelangelo placed his hands together and bowed respectfully to the glowing orb. " I call upon The Oracle, who sees what cannot be seen and knows what no one knows."

The orb in the center of the room brightened. "Welcome Michelangelo," A woman's voice said warmly, filling the chamber. "I know why you are here."

Raphael backed up in shock. "What the shell?" He asked, but Benten and Sylvia hushed him.

Michelangelo smiled and giggled at the light. "I figured you did, Oracle. Now would you please tell Murial that the Foot are not tracking me?"

"Of course, Michelangelo," the orb replied. "The Foot are not tracking you."

"See!" Michelangelo grinned triumphantly back to Murial who scowled back at him.

However the Oracle was not finished. "The Foot are tracking Lillian," she said.


	13. Raphael In the Mermaid's Den

Chapter 13 Raphael in the mermaids Den

Within the hour Raphael lost his sense of direction completely. His sense of up, down, north, south, east and west was completely gone. He had no idea where he was and no idea of how far they were traveling. He knew the temple had to be close for Michelangelo to make day trips, but not knowing his location was starting to worry him.

"Hey how much further is it?" He asked Sylvia as she pulled him along.

"Not far," She answered with a grin. If the water was clearer you could see it now.

"Sylvia," Lillian called out, "Look!"

Raphael turned to look and saw a pair of bottle nosed dolphins speeding towards them. Sylvia stared at the dolphins with a slight frown. "Why only two?" She asked.

"Well now we know Murial's on watch," Michelangelo said as the dolphins came closer. "The day she sends me help will be the day the oceans in Hawaii freeze over."

Lillian sighed and rolled her eyes, but did not argue with that statement. "Jeri, Panama, please help Michelangelo and his brother. Sylvia and I can swim on our own."

Michelangelo grinned in anticipation. "You got it girlfriend. I'll take care of Raph. I've got my gizmo on me."

With a smile Lillian said, "Very well my friend, catch up!" With that she took the younger mermaid's hand, dropped Raphael's hand, and swam off.

"No wait! I can't breath!" Raphael said panicked, but Michelangelo grabbed onto Raphael's wrist.

"Don't worry bro, Everything's cool. Remember that stuff Siv's got for me? The pearl lets us both breath underwater. Just grab on to me and your finny friend there and we're off!"

Raphael took an experimental breath. Sure enough he could still breathe. He did as he was told reaching out with his free hand, and getting a good grip on the dorsal fin of the dolphin who was waiting patiently. Once he was secure the two dolphins nodded to each other, pumped their large flukes, and sped off in the direction of the mermaids."

Seconds later his head came to the surface of the water. He found himself in a huge round chamber. On a bridge overlooking the water he was in were standing twenty women. On the edge of the water sat Sylvia and Lillian. Raphael hoisted himself up to the side where the two mermaids sat. Michelangelo got out of the water, stood up, and bowed before an elderly woman. She had deep set green brown eyes and rich brown hair that was beginning to go grey. She was dressed in a long flowing blue skirt with a simple blouse of sky blue and sliver.

Raphael looked at this seemingly frail and elderly mermaid, and was rocked to his very core. The power he always felt from Lillian, and a little bit from Sylvia radiated from this mermaid like a sun. He knew, without a doubt anything she wanted he would do instantly. No amount of understanding why this was so would make him resist. He didn't even want to. He loved her instantly, and knew that she loved him as well.

"Welcome my young friend," She said. Her voice was exciting and calming at the same time. All Raphael could do was nod back a greeting. She smiled and then turned her attention to Michelangelo. "It is high time that you brought one of your brothers here below."

Michelangelo gave his brother a wry amused glance. "He wouldn't let me go alone." He offered Raphael a hand up and placed him before the elderly mermaid. "Benten, this is Raphael. Raph, this is Benten."

Raphael wasn't sure what to say or think at first. Totally taken aback he managed to sputter out a, "Uh hi," then he remembered his manners and bowed.

Benten smiled warmly, and placed her hand on his shoulder. "There is no need to be afraid, Raphael. You and your brother are welcome here."

Just like that Raphael felt his fear wash away. He was still a little nervous and apprehensive, but now there was a sensation of safety and acceptance that made him smile and relax.

"Unfortunately, we have some bad news." Benten said. "The Foot have been tracking the four of you since you entered the water. They have been following you."

"I told you they would bring their enemies to us!" An elderly mermaid with slate grey hair said from behind Benten.

Michelangelo glared at the one mermaid then turned back to Benten. "Are you sure? We had to have out swam them."

"They are tracking you still," the grey haired mermaid said sternly. She reached out to Michelangelo, and pulled a small sliver of crystal from a seam in his head band. "See this is the object they are using to find us, Benten! Your little pet has spelled our doom."

"Sorry to burst your bubble, lady, but our brother Don planted that on Mike when he started sneaking off to see you people." Raphael said, folding his arms over his plastron. "The Shredder doesn't even know about those crystal things."

The grey haired mermaid glared down at Raphael. "Are you so sure of that?" She asked.

Michelangelo snatched the crystal in her hands. "We could always ask The Oracle. She'll tell us if the Shredder's tracking this thing or not." Without waiting for an answer Michelangelo walked past all the mermaids. Benten and the others followed behind. Raphael had to run to catch up.

They entered a circular chamber that was lit only by a silver glowing ball in the center of the room. Around the ball was a marble and silver rail that the sphere hovered above, glowing a steady, bright warm light.

Michelangelo and the mermaids circled the railing. Raphael, who was at the tail of the line, moved forward to stand between his brother and the Mermaid leader Benten. Silvia stood at her grandmother's other side. To Raphael's surprise, Michelangelo placed his hands together and bowed respectfully to the glowing orb. "I call upon The Oracle, who sees what cannot be seen and knows what no one knows."

The orb in the center of the room brightened. "Welcome, Michelangelo," A woman's voice said warmly, filling the chamber. "I know why you are here."

Raphael backed up in shock. "What the shell?" He asked, but Benten and Sylvia hushed him.

Michelangelo smiled, and giggled at the light. "I figured you did, Oracle. Now would you please tell Murial that the Foot are not tracking me?"

"Of course, Michelangelo," the orb replied. "The Foot are not tracking you."

"See!" Michelangelo grinned triumphantly back to Murial who scowled back at him.

However, the Oracle was not finished. "The Foot are tracking Lillian," she said.

That made every turtle and mermaid in the room turn to the orb in confusion. "What?" They all cried in unison.

"The Foot are tracking Lillian." The Oracle repeated. "There is an electronic device hidden within the hilt of her knives. The sound it produces is luring The Foot to the temple.

"Lemme see," Raphael said holding his hands out to Lillian. Lillian handed over the knives and in a few seconds he had found the bugs. "The Shredder must have bugged your knives when he had you and our brothers prisoner."

"So it is your fault," Murial, the grey haired mermaid said with a sneer.

"Peace," Benten said, slightly cross. "Placing blame does not solve our current problem. The Foot are coming, and we need to plan a strategy." She turned to The Oracle. "Good Oracle, please tell us how we may defend our home from these outsiders."

The Oracle flared to life showing images of the Shredders' forces on the surface beginning their dive. The images showed the Shredder above, coordinating the activities with the strange woman who they had seen at his side earlier. Along side of her was a younger woman also in the purple and black.

"It is our ancient enemy Badb who has turned The Shredder's attention to what can be found below the sea," The Oracle said. "They have split the forces into four waves of attacks. The final attack Badb shall lead. In the second attack her assistant shall lead. In order to succeed we must keep Badb from her objective."

Benten sighed. "And what does Badb desire?" She asked The Oracle.

From next to him Raphael heard Michelangelo mutter, "as if we didn't know."

"Badb seeks the Rhinegold," The Oracle explained. "It must be kept from her for if she places the ring upon her finger she shall bring her doom upon her."

"She can bring her doom upon herself, Oracle," Michelangelo said. "But I'd rather the rest of us not be taken for the ride."

"Agreed," Benten said, placing a hand on Michelangelo's shoulder. "We must defend the temple, and keep the Rhinegold from Badb at all costs." She turned her attention back to the Oracle. "How do the Shredder's forces intend to attack us?"

The Oracle glowed with activity "When The Foot reach the Temple they shall drill into the garden chamber adjacent to the menagerie. From there the only access available to them is the –"

"The great hall," Benten finished. There is the antechamber that separates the gardens and the menagerie from the great hall. There they can be contained. If the Foot reach the great hall then they have access to the rest of the temple, and can split up."

"So all we need are two or three warriors here at the antechamber and they can practically hold of**(21)** the entire Foot!" Michelangelo said excitedly.

"Mermaids are not warriors,' Murial said haughtily.

"There could have been warriors here," Michelangelo said frowning at Murial. "I mean there are warriors in Australia, Japan, and around Africa and South America. Why don't you have them here"

"We don't need warriors here," Murial said. "This is a modern city. Or should I say we didn't need warriors here, until you started showing up."

"Enough!" Benten said crossly. "We shall learn from this oversight, but we shall not squabble like humans.

"I can hold off the foot from that room," Raphael said firmly.

"We both can!" Michelangelo added.

"We cannot possibly spare you," Murial said with the barest hint of sarcasm. "You know these Foot creatures, and we will need you to strategize.

Michelangelo frowned instantly. "Raph doesn't know anything about the temple, I should be with him."

Murial's voice oozed contempt. "Are you saying that your brother cannot handle being alone in The Temple, Michelangelo?"

Raphael frowned. He knew there was some hostility between Michelangelo and this Murial, but he wasn't sure why. At the moment he felt as if he were a pawn in some strange kind of power struggle. Murial's comment about not handling being alone would have normally made him angry, and he would have insisted he could handle anything, but he knew that there was something else going on here that he didn't understand. So he kept his comments to himself, and watched Michelangelo and the mermaids argue.

"I can stand with Raphael," Lillian said firmly. "I can fight,"

"Yes, yes but you are our only scout," Murial said smoothly. "You were above as well We need your input. "

"Benten!" Michelangelo protested.

The elder mermaid sighed sadly, and patted Michelangelo's shell gently. "I know, my young friend, but Murial is right. We have no others skilled enough to stand by his side." She turned to give Raphael a long measuring look. "Show him the antechamber to the gardens and menagerie, and warn him about the hazards." Benten then gave orders to the rest of her colony. "The rest of you shall spread out throughout the temple. I know you are all skilled enough to fight one foe at a time. Raphael is skilled at battling many. Remember these are ninja assassins. Take care, my people. Murial, ready the temple's defenses. I shall go, and release the Liplurodon."

Michelangelo gasped at that. "You're setting free the Lipo?"

Benten nodded. "Our home is under siege. The Liplurodon may cut down on some of our enemies. Lillian, warn our charges that the Liplurodon is loose, and they must stay in their homes."

"Yes Benten," Lillian said.

Benten sighed with relief then said, "Sylvia you are to lock yourself in the deepest part of your chambers under the water line, and stay there until you are called for."

Sylvia's face fell instantly. "But Grandmother, I want to stay with Raphael. I could -"

"Absolutely not," Benten said sternly. "Raphael will not have the time to spare to protect you. He will be holding off the majority of the Foot warriors."

Sylvia was about to protest again, when the Oracle flared again. "Michelangelo! Your brothers are searching the seas for you. They shall find the temple after the first wave of Foot Amazons arrive. The image in the Oracle's sphere showed both Leonardo and Donatello putting on some odd type of scuba gear in preparation for their dive.

"Oh man!" Michelangelo said with a sigh. "Talk about the Calvary coming too late!"

"See!" Sylvia insisted. "You need me. Who's going to guide them if they show up during the fight! They don't know anything about the Temple."

Michelangelo rolled his eyes and took Sylvia gently by the shoulders. "Siv, The Foot play for keeps! It's way too dangerous for you to be swimming around loose when they show up! Now get to your rooms girlfriend." When it looked as if Sylvia would argue more, Michelangelo said, "Siv, Benten and I won't be able to do what we have to do unless you're safe."

Sylvia looked deeply into Michelangelo's eyes and sighed. "Okay Mike, I'll do what you want." She said sounding defeated.

Michelangelo hugged her quickly. "That's my girl." With a quick wink and a grin he turned to Benten. "I'm gonna take Raph and set him up by the menagerie. I'll meet you back in the Oracle Chamber."

Benten nodded, and allowed Michelangelo to lead Raphael away. Once he was sure they weren't going to be overheard Raphael said, "Okay Mikey what's really going on. What's between you and that mermaid Murial?"

Michelangelo sighed as he turned a corner. "Murial isn't thrilled with me for lots of reasons. She's always trying to find reasons to blame me for things and to bring me down. She's trying to find a reason to get rid of me."

Raphael digested this slowly as he looked at the white limestone and marble halls. Along the sides of the areas were canals, much like the runoff tubes down in the sewers. Every now and then he would see a fish, a seal or a mermaid swim by. "So what's the big deal about me being alone down here?" He asked.

Michelangelo sighed pensively. "It's kinda complicated. It's just that sometimes the temple has a mind of its own." Michelangelo looked at him directly. "You liked it when Lillian calmed you down, right?"

At the very mention of his meeting with Lillian Raphael smiled. He couldn't help himself. "Yeah," he said warmly.

Michelangelo nodded thoughtfully. "The temple kinda does stuff like that too, but you can't let it get in your head."

"Why not?" Raphael asked curious.

Michelangelo's expression told Raphael that Michelangelo knew what he wanted to say but he didn't have the words to express himself. "You just can't," Michelangelo said finally. "Trust me on this bro. Listening to the temple when it starts singing is just asking for trouble."

Raphael finally shrugged. "Okay Mikey if you say so."

They stopped at an area with several pools and more pillars of white stone. Michelangelo looked around carefully before he said anything. "Okay if the Oracle is right, and she's always right, The Foot are gonna come out of the menagerie there, or the gardens over there." Michelangelo pointed down two different tunnels. "If Don and Leo show up they'll probably come in through the menagerie too. So watch out for them, and stay away from the edges of the water."

"How come?" Raphael asked.

Michelangelo simply pointed into the water. Something huge and grey swam idly by. As it passed Raphael saw a head that was about the size of Leather head's entire body, and its mouth was full of teeth.

"What the shell is that?" Raphael asked.

"That's Benten's Lipo." Michelangelo said. "Don probably knows a lot about it. The mermaids use them for guard dogs. All I know is that it's big, ugly and not picky about what it eats. "

"Gotcha," Raphael said nervously. The large aquatic reptile in the water looked at him as if eyeing him up for a meal, then swam away. Raphael stifled a shudder.

Michelangelo looked at Raphael one more time and frowned pensively. "Are you sure your going to be okay alone here, Raph?"

Raphael relaxed that it was something so simple. "Sure thing Mikey, go back with the others I'll be fine here." He said. He wondered what Michelangelo knew that was making him worry so much, but Raphael was sure he'd be okay."

Michelangelo looked as if he was going to say something else but then just finished with. "Be careful, bro," and instead of running back the way he came he dove into a pool of water away from the Liplurodon, and swam away.

Raphael looked confused at a moment. He then realized that Michelangelo probably knew his way around here in and out of the water, and he shouldn't be concerned about how Michelangelo knew where he was going.

Raphael waited. There was a soft steady humming around the room, but he ignored it. He had a feeling this was what Michelangelo meant by the temple singing. He wondered what was so terrible about listening to the sound, but he trusted Michelangelo when he said it would cause trouble.

Twice more as he waited he saw the giant Liplurodon creature swim by. Raphael kept away from the edges of the water, and watched it warily as the giant reptile made its patrols.

Finally he heard a grating sound against the walls. Raphael ran up to the entryway to the Menagerie and peered in. In the Menagerie were pools of waters with different types of sea creatures. It amazed Raphael that the mermaids had been doing all this right under Staten Island, and no one even had a clue.

Suddenly female Foot Tech Ninjas began to pour out of one of the nearby pools in the menagerie. Beautiful giant leatherback sea turtles moved forward and began to push the invasive Foot Ninjas out of their pool. One of the Foot Tech Amazons raised her halberd to strike down the poor creature.

Raphael in one leap managed to get between the ninja and her target. "No picking on the relatives," he said as he began to fight the hoard of female Foot Tech Ninjas. One of them tried to attack him from behind, but he sensed her coming, and flipped her over his head. Another tried to come after him with a sword, but he easily disarmed her, and threw her back into the water. A third tried to charge him head long. He managed to stop her cold with a handstand kick to her solar plexus.

The strange **humming** of the walls of the temple was providing a melody for this strange combative ballet. Raphael found that if he attacked in time with the tune it seemed to make his punches more effective. The temple droned on steadily with its odd melody, and Raphael found himself stronger, and more able to defend the temple. He had no idea how the song of this building was getting into his blood and into his brain. It felt fantastic. He was powerful, faster than he ever was before. Nothing could hurt him. The Foot Tech Amazons couldn't even touch him. This was more than just an ordinary battle high. Raphael felt invincible. Nothing and no one was going to get past him to invade his temple.

When the last of the Foot Amazons were knocked out, Raphael sensed another intruder in his temple. Without stopping to think about it he turned around to attack this new threat.

Coming soon Chapter 14 Leo and Don in the Mermaid's Den

Leonardo backed up from his opponent into Raphael's fighting circle. To his surprise his brother took a swing at him with his sai.

"Raph, watch out!" Leonardo shouted annoyed. Raphael didn't appear to hear him. He just turned and attacked another Foot Tech Amazon.

"Leo, something is wrong with him," Donatello called as he swung his bo knocking two of the last Foot down. "I don't think he really saw you."

Donatello's tone made Leonardo mentally translate the word "saw" to "recognize." That made him wonder about what the little mermaid had said. He knocked out the last Foot Tech Amazon, and began to turn to face Raphael when he found himself blocking an attack from his own brother.

"Raph!" Donatello shouted reproachfully, but it was as if Raphael didn't even hear him. He simply continued to go after Leonardo at full force. As he was blocking the bows Leonardo looked into his brother's eyes and only then understood. Raphael was in come sort of trance, and didn't know Leonardo for who he was.

"Raph, it's me, Leo!" he shouted as he fought back trying not to harm Raphael. "Snap out of it!"

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	14. Leo and Don In the Mermaid's Den

Chapter 14 Leo & Don in the mermaid's den

Donatello's tracker was working perfectly, but Leonardo was puzzled as they swam further and further out to sea. He turned on the speaker in the artificial gills they had stolen from the Foot. "Don, are you sure that thing is leading us in the right direction? "

Donatello nodded. "The signal's moved slightly to the south west. I have a good idea where it's taking us."

Leonardo pondered this as they continued to swim. "South west? Won't that take us to the mainland eventually."

"Not at first," Donatello explained. "There's something between us and the mainland that I think might be our target."

As if to confirm Donatello's guess A large metal pillar rose from the bottom of the ocean perching the surface above them. "Just like I thought," Donatello said. "Leo, do you know were we are?" When Leonardo shook his head no, Donatello explained. "This is the Verrazano Bridge, which means we're in the Narrows."

"That leads to the open sea," Leonardo answered concerned."

"I know but that's not where we're going," Donatello explained. "The signal is coming from over there," he pointed to a mountain of rock, an island to their right. "Staten Island."

"The mermaids live on Staten Island?" Leonardo asked puzzled.

"More likely under it," Donatello answered. "We just have to find a way in."

Donatello and Leonardo both began a slow circle of the island. Before they had barely begun, however a pair of silver torpedo shapes flew through the water to them. Leonardo wasn't sure what they were or how to fight them so deep under the water, but Donatello raised a hand to stop Leonardo from advancing.

"Easy Leo, They're dolphins. Atlantic Bottlenosed Dolphins to be precise, but they're usually not this far north in October."

The two dolphins circled Leonardo and Donatello twice, then one approached Donatello and chittered at him.

Donatello looked at Leonardo then back at the dolphin confused. "What do you think it wants, Don?" Leonardo asked.

"Considering it's the wrong time of the year for dolphins, I'm wondering if they haven't come from the mermaid's temple. They may be here to guide us." Donatello said. The dolphin chittered again as if it were answering him. It nudged Donatello's hand, and swam against him until the dorsal fin was up against Donatello's hand. "Come on, it wants to show us!" Donatello said excited he grasped firmly onto the dolphin's dorsal fin and it began to pull him away."

"Don! Wait!" Leonardo called out. He grabbed onto the second dolphin who pulled him after Donatello at a speed Leonardo couldn't believe. Then again as he felt the muscles bulging under the dolphin's skin and the force of the wake they were making as the dolphin's fluke pumped up and down in the water, maybe he could believe the speed at which they were going. Before he knew where they were going, the dolphins had made for a concealed cavern, and they were swimming up an access tunnel into the mermaid's stronghold.

As Leonardo's head broke the surface of the water he found himself in an open cavern of limestone and marble. The stones seemed to be giving off an iridescent light that illuminated the area as brightly as if it were a clear day above. They were in one of several pools that were scattered about a pathway. Along the walls were windows of some unknown clear substance that allowed the viewer to see the fish swimming about on the outside. A small splash behind Leonardo told him that Donatello had joined him.

"Fascinating," Donatello breathed softly. His eyes were wide as he took in everything in sight.

A light shove reminded Leonardo that they weren't the only water creatures in this pool. The dolphin looked up at Leonardo as if amused and again nudged him towards what appeared to be a shoreline covered in sand.

"I guess they're telling us that this is our stop," Donatello said with a smile.

Together they got to their feet and surveyed the transparent polished crystal walls that clearly showed dozens of different types of silvered fish peering at them.

"Blue fish, stripped bass, Leo, these are all local fish." Donatello said excitedly.

"I guess they figure they're safer here than in the open ocean," Leonardo answered. "But what about the dolphins, Don? They're not local are they?"

Donatello thought about it. "I've read books saying that in the summer when it's really warm, they come up this far north, but did you notice how warm it is in here? It's like a day in June."

Leonardo had noticed. Outside the mermaid's stronghold it was well into October. They days were nice enough, but the nights were cool to down right chilly. The moment they had entered the chamber they felt the air on his skin was warm and comfortable.

"Hey Leo look!" Donatello called to him. He moved over to another pool where seals were swimming happily with each other. A few of the furry mammals poked their heads out of the water and watched the two turtles curiously.

"Hey there," Donatello said gently. He reached his hand out to the seals who sniffed it cordially, then rubbed their heads against his hand.

Amused Leonardo offered his hand to the seals, but they swam away from him preferring to spend their time with Donatello.

"Careful Donny," Leonardo said warningly. "There's something funny about this place."

Donatello gave Leonardo a worried glance, but another pool caught his attention. "Leo, they have sea turtles here!" Sure enough the pool to their left contained sea turtles happily swimming about.

"No wonder Lillian is so fond of us," Donatello said, absently. One of the turtles swimming came over to Donatello curious, but swam away when Leonardo came over.

"It doesn't seem that I'm very welcome here," Leonardo said sadly.

"I guess they're kind of skittish right now," Donatello tried to reassure his brother, without much luck. Leonardo couldn't shake the idea that the animals were rejecting him. He almost voiced the thought when he suddenly heard Donatello gasp in shock. "Leo do you see that?"

Leonardo looked at the next pool where a school of odd looking fish with long snouts full of pointed teeth, were gobbling down some squid. When one of the creatures came up for air Leonardo reassessed his analysis. "It's some sort of strange dolphin isn't it?"

"It's not a dolphin," Donatello explained still looking at the creatures in shock. "It's an opthalmasarus, a type of ichthyosaur."

The name still puzzled Leonardo. "I've never heard of them."

"Most people haven't," Donatello said. Ichthyosaurs went extinct millions of years ago along with most other marine reptiles."

"Marine reptiles?" Leonardo echoed. Across from the Ichthyosaur enclosure, a reptilian snake like neck rose out of the water. "Don, what is that?"

Donatello blinked surprised again. "Cryptoclytes, a type of plesiosaur. They're supposed to be extinct too!"

Leonardo tried to ignore the odd buzzing headache that was beginning to form around his temples, and concentrate on what Donatello was telling him. These mermaids had extinct sea reptiles here? How was it possible As he mused over the thought he noticed something large swimming in the water. For some odd reason he suddenly had the feeling that the creature below him was sizing him up for a meal. "Donny?" Leonardo asked uncertainly backing away from the waters edge. "Did you see that in the water?"

"I was hoping I didn't," Donatello said worriedly. "I can't place the species. I just hope that he's not hungry.

"We've got to find Raph and Mikey, and get out of here." Leonardo said. "This area is like some kind of maze."

"Donatello frowned when Leonardo mentioned leaving. "I'm not sure you'll get Mikey to agree to go, Leo. These aren't just mermaids to him. These are his friends. He's not going to abandon them to The Foot."

"I know," Leonardo said, his voice was stressed. "I don't want him to abandon him I just want...." Leonardo trailed off as the pain throbbed just under his skull. "I just want this headache to go away."

Donatello put a comforting hand on Leonardo's arm. "Easy, Leo. Everything's okay. We're probably in their gardens or menagerie or something. The entrance to their main halls is probably –"

When Donatello broke off unexpectedly Leonardo, worried, looked up. Donatello was frozen in shock, his eyes as wide as pie plates. "Don?" Leonardo asked. "Donny, what's wrong?"

Donatello's voice was quiet with wonder. "Leo, look," he said, his voice barely above a whisper. Leonardo turned to see what has shocked Donatello into silence. In the pool before them was the largest sea turtle he had ever seen. The heads of these turtles were as easily as big as his own shell, and their shells could have doubled as boats.

"Oh wow!" Leonardo breathed out. He couldn't think of what else to say. He was struck speechless, completely in awe of the giants before them.

"And to think we always thought we were big for turtles," Donatello said. He was just as amazed as Leonardo. Donatello slowly moved forward as if drawn by the massive creatures until he was waist deep in the water.

"Donny, be careful," Leonardo cautioned, but the warning was unnecessary. The huge sea turtle slowly swum right up to Donatello, and gently rubbed its head against him asking to be scratched. Laughing, Donatello obliged him.

"All the animals around here seem to like you Donny," Leonardo said amused. "But I don't think they're so thrilled with me."

"You're still fighting those instincts, Leo," Donatello said calmly as he gave each of the massive creatures a good scratch on their heads. "It makes all the animals here think you're an intruder. Look at these guys. These turtles are exactly like our ancient ancestors from 200 million years ago. This is why we have this connection to the mermaids."

Leonardo sighed defeated. "I ...I guess your right, Don. It's just that I don't want to cave into it. We're not just ordinary turtles; we're teenage mutant ninja turtles. With our training I'd like to think we'd have some control over our own minds mermaids or no."

"I told Lillian no before," Donatello said, gently giving the turtles one last pat. It may have sounded like a non-sequitur, but Leonardo understood why Donatello had said it.

"You told her no?" He echoed confused.

Donatello nodded, and sent the giant turtles on their way. "When Raph and I showed up to help her find Sylvia, she didn't want to put us at risk. She told me that we should go home, and she meant it too. I felt the tug to obey her, but I wanted to help her and shook it off. I told her she wouldn't be chasing Mikey away so I wasn't going to leave her either. Leo, giving into the instincts doesn't mean you blindly obey everything the mermaids say. It means you trust them, and treat them like friends."

Leonardo sighed deeply as he kept his eyes on the ground. "I just don't know, Don. I just can't bring myself to–"Leonardo broke off as he heard the sounds of fighting several yards off. "Do you hear that Donny?"

"Yeah, I do, and so do they," Donatello replied. Leonard turned to see the giant sea turtles and the other sea creatures raise their heads listening to the fighting. One by one they all dove for deeper waters.

"Sounds like trouble," Leonardo said, getting his bearings again. Fighting was something he could handle. "Let's go!"

Donatello jumped out of the water and drew his bo. Together,the two ninja turtles followed the sounds to an open hall where only a small waterway ran through from the menagerie to another chamber. Here they found Raphael deep in battle with fifty of the Foot Tech Amazons.

"Raph!" they both shouted simultaneously, but Raphael didn't seem to hear them. He was completely focused on trashing any Foot Tech Amazon within reach.

"No!" A small voice behind Leonardo exclaimed. He and Donatello both turned to see the young adolescent mermaid that had helped rescue them from the Foot.

"Sylvia!" Donatello said surprised.

Sylvia nodded in acknowledgment of Donatello, but her eyes remained fixed on Raphael. "He did exactly what Mike and I told him not to do! The temple has him now, and he can't wake up!"

"Wake up?" Donatello asked. "What do you mean?"

Leonardo didn't wait for an explanation. He charged into the crowd of Foot Tech Amazons, and fought them back into a corner. He struck a Foot Tech on the head with the pommel of his katana, and slapped another with the flat of his blades. If they could get the Foot to surrender it would be preferable to killing them. His only goal was to render the women unconscious.

Donatello was doing much of the same. As he fought Leonardo saw many women struck senseless from a blow of Donatello's bo.

Leonardo backed up from his opponent into Raphael's fighting circle. To his surprise his brother took a swing at him with his sai.

"Raph, watch out!" Leonardo shouted annoyed. Raphael didn't appear to hear him. He just turned and attacked another Foot Tech Amazon.

"Leo, something is wrong with him," Donatello called as he swung his bo knocking two of the last Foot down. "I don't think he really saw you."

Donatello's tone made Leonardo mentally translate the word "saw" to "recognize." That made him wonder about what the little mermaid had said. He knocked out the last Foot Tech Amazon, and began to turn to face Raphael when he found himself blocking an attack from his own brother.

"Raph!" Donatello shouted reproachfully, but it was as if Raphael didn't even hear him. He simply continued to go after Leonardo at full force. As he was blocking the blows Leonardo looked into his brother's eyes and only then understood. Raphael was in come sort of trance, and didn't know Leonardo for who he was.

"Raph, it's me, Leo!" he shouted as he fought back trying not to harm Raphael. "Snap out of it!" He wasn't sure what to do when suddenly the young mermaid, Sylvia, barreled into Raphael knocking him to the ground away from Leonardo. Raphael didn't even appear to recognize her as he tried to push her off of his plastron.

"Raph, no! You have to wake up!" She said. She glanced over at Donatello who was steadying Leonardo and said, "This will help." And then she began to sing.

The first thing Leonardo noticed about Sylvia's singing was that the tempo and pitch of her song was different from the adult mermaids. Still Leonardo found his body relaxing, reacting to the eerie hypnotic tune. He shook his head firmly and said, "No! Stop–" Donatello hushed him, before he could finish the sentence.

"Wait, Leo," he said. "Look."

Sylvia was still seated on top of Raphael's chest pinning his arms back, and still singing softly. Raphael was listening intently watching her with half closed eyes. Sylvia stopped singing and eased off of him. Leaning over, she whispered softly into his ear. "Raphael, wake up." Raphael closed his eyes, and sighed deeply for a second then opened his eyes again and blinked sleepily, as if awakening from a dream.

"Siv?" Raphael sat up slowly shaking his head firmly to clear it. Sylvia sat at his side and reached over taking his hand in hers.

"Sylvia!" Raphael finally seemed to see her. "What are you doing here? I thought Mikey and your grandma told you to go to your room. It's dangerous with all the Foot around." He still hadn't noticed Leonardo and Donatello watching them.

"Mike wanted me to watch out for you." Sylvia replied. "He knew you wouldn't be able to resist listening to the song of the temple."

Suddenly Leonardo understood. "It's that humming I've been hearing since Don and I got here. It's that noise that's been giving me a headache."

Silvia looked at Leonardo sternly. "It wouldn't give you a headache if you'd stop telling yourself that you don't belong here."

Leonardo's voice snapped Raphael into full awareness of his surroundings. "Leo? Don? When did you guys get here?"

Leonardo ignored the question, and still focused his attention on Sylvia. "What did this temple do to Raphael? Why didn't he recognize me?"

"Huh?" Raphael was confused at the questioning. "What are you talking about, Leo?"

Donatello answered instead, helping Raphael to his feet. Sylvia stood too keeping on hand on Raphael at all times. "What do you remember just before Sylvia jumped you?"

Raphael frowned, thinking. "I was fighting the Foot Tech Amazons, but something was happening. It was like I was on automatic. It felt great! They couldn't lay a hand on me. I never felt so strong before in my life. There was another intruder but...but..." Raphael stopped and looked up at Leonardo. "It was you?"

Leonardo nodded. "Do you know why you couldn't recognize me?"

Raphael shook his head. "I don't know. I couldn't stop. I didn't want to stop. It was like I was connected to someone else's head, and they told me you were an intruder. I tried to stop but I couldn't."

Leonardo turned back to Sylvia who nodded understanding. "It was the song of the temple. It's connected to the Earth Power. It is the power that sustains us in time of danger. Those who take in the earth power become one with the song, and gain great strength and stamina."

"That explains Raph's high," Leonardo said thoughtfully, but that doesn't tell me why Raph went after me like that."

"I think I know," Donatello said looking up at the walls. "Giving into the temple's song, gives him access to this Earth Power but it comes at a price. You become susceptible to what the building is telling you."

"What do you mean what the building is telling him?" Leonardo asked. "All I hear is that constant humming."

Sylvia looked up, in shock, at Donatello. "You can understand our songs?"

"I guess," Donatello said. "When Lillian sang Mikey that healing song, it did something to me too. I said in my dreams I wanted to understand more of who you're people were, and ever since then I've understood the words behind your singing, or at least the meaning. If I concentrate I can understand the building too. It's been trying to drive Leo away since we got here. That's why the animals kept rejecting him, and when Raph was caught by the temple's song he went after him as if he was another intruder.

Sylvia nodded. "The temple is trying to drive all intruders away, but it wouldn't be hurting Leo if he stopped acting like he doesn't belong here. I know you guys weren't originally sea turtles, but the water is your home, and you are part of our protectorate. You belong with us. That's why I sent the dolphins to bring you in."

Leonardo tried to set his will against the hum, but that only made his head hurt more. "No we don't," he argued back. "I belong in the sewers with my sensei Master Splinter. Angry for no apparent reason he glared at Donatello and Raphael. "You both remember Master Splinter don't you?"

That got Raphael angry. "Leo–" he began warningly, but another voice cut him off.

"Yes Leo, we remember Master Splinter. I also remember that he said I could come and help my friends."

All three turtles turned to see Michelangelo leaning against the wall with his arms folded over his plastron, one foot resting on the wall, and a smug grin played across his face.

Leonardo and Donatello were struck speechless. Sylvia ran forward and jumped into Michelangelo's outstretched arms. "Did I do a good job Mike?"

Cheerfully Michelangelo picked up the young mermaid, tossed her into the air, and caught her again before setting her gently back on the ground. "You bet, sweet thing! You did exactly what I wanted."

"Raphael frowned at that. "Wait a minute! I distinctly heard you tell our Small Fry here, to go to her rooms!"

Again Michelangelo's smile was all mischief. "You're right Raph, that's what I said, but Siv here heard what I didn't say."

Donatello got that instantly. "Mermaids are telepathic. No matter what you were saying out loud Sylvia can hear what you were thinking on the sly to her."

Michelangelo nodded, and tousled Sylvia's hair. "Yep, she knew I wanted her to keep an eye on Raph, and watch for you guys too. The Oracle told us you were coming."

"But why would you have to communicate on the sly with her?" Leonardo asked. "Why hide anything from the others."

"Not all the others," Raphael answered a knowing grin crossing his face. "It's that one old mermaid that doesn't like you. She's the one that wanted me to guard the entrance alone. "

"There are mermaids here that don't like you?" Leonardo was almost amused by that. "I thought they all loved you."

"Murial doesn't like anything new." Sylvia said rolling her eyes. "Mother's colony uses machines and computers. Murial thinks they will expose us."

"I couldn't help but notice Mikey rubs her the wrong way," Raphael said. Sylvia frowned at that.

"She thinks that the four of you are unnatural because you are mutants," she said sadly. "Grandmother has tried to explain to her that you could not have controlled your fate, and if the earth did not wish you to survive you would have been destroyed years ago, and that you would be a great help and asset to our kind, but Murial is so sure that she is right, she will listen to nothing we say."

"Murial is a pain, that's what she is," Michelangelo said forcefully. "She's always trying to set me up to screw up anything I do down here. And she's always talking trash about me."

"Sylvia reached out and took Michelangelo's arm comfortingly. "Grandmother will never let her drive you from us."

Michelangelo smiled and hugged the girl back. "Benten should be careful anyway. Murial hates her too, and not just because of me."

Sylvia nodded. "She is jealous because she is many hundreds of years older than my grandmother, but she cannot become a matriarch. She will never get a rank higher than she has now."

"Why can't this Murial became a matriarch?" Leonardo asked. This sounded like a lot of intrigue, and it was something he wanted to be aware of.

"In order to become a matriarch, one must be a mother first, so that she can be mother to the colony," Sylvia explained. "Murial never won for herself a husband and has never had daughters. Grandmother says that's why she's so angry all the time."

"Like Murial could ever be mellow enough to win a husband," Michelangelo muttered. When Sylvia glanced over to him he said sheepishly, "but you didn't hear me say that."

"One of these days Mike, someone is going to hear you say that." Sylvia said with a grin. "You're going to start a big fight."

Michelangelo grinned mischievously. "Aww come on Siv, give a turtle some credit. I never say it in front of anyone who'd turn me in. Besides everyone knows it's true."

Leonardo sighed. "Why am I guessing that even though what you're saying about this Murial is true, it still wouldn't be polite to say to her face?"

"He has said it to her face," Sylvia said with a grin. "Just not in front of Benten or a High Council member."

Suddenly a fur seal lumbered up to Sylvia,and began barking non-stop. Both Sylvia and Michelangelo looked at each other in shock. "Oh no, here we go again!" Michelangelo said.

"What is it Mikey?" Donatello asked.

"More of The Foot Amazons are on the way," Sylvia said. "It is the second wave, and one of the leaders is with them."

"Siv, tell Benten I'm staying here now. I'll do more good fighting down here. They won't get to the lower chambers then." Michelangelo told her. He then asked the fur seal, "Which way are they coming in?"

The fur seal barked again then headed back to the waters. As Michelangelo watched their messenger leave he said, "You too Siv, hit the waters. Get yourself somewhere safe while we entertain the company. "

"I'm not leaving you," Sylvia insisted. "What if you need me again?"

"I didn't say go to your rooms," Michelangelo said slyly. "I just want you where you won't get hurt."

"Mikey's right, Small Fry," Raphael said. "Best get yourself somewhere safe. We don't want you getting hurt."

"If you want to stay close just stay under the water." Donatello suggested. "The Foot Amazons won't think to look for anyone there if we're fighting them."

Sylvia sighed pensively. "All right, but I'm staying close in case you need me."

Michelangelo sighed and hugged her, kissing her on top of the head. "That's my girl. You'll see, we'll be done in no time."

A sound was heard in one of the outer tunnels leading to this chamber. "Time to make like a gold fish, girl friend." Michelangelo said. "Tell your grandma we'll be busy here for a while."

Sylvia nodded and dove for the water. In seconds she was gone. As the four readied themselves for the fight, Leonardo asked, "Mikey, how do we keep what happened to Raph, from happening again?"

"It's cool, Leo, Siv's watching Raph's head now," Michelangelo said unconcerned. "The temple can't catch him again without her knowing, and if it does she'll just knock it out of him again."

That told Leonardo that Michelangelo was very aware of what had happened just before he, and Donatello arrived. Leonardo wasn't sure if that information comforted him or not. Michelangelo knew what he was doing. He knew everything they needed to know about this magical mermaid temple, and Leonardo knew that he didn't know anything. Not used to depending on Michelangelo, Leonardo felt very out of control, and he didn't like it. A second later Leonardo forced all of his doubts into the back of his mind. The Foot Amazons were attacking again.

The odds were nearly ten to one, but those were good odds to the four turtles. Leonardo found he could forget where he was in favor of defending the chamber from The Foot ninjas. As before, every single ninja was a female equipped with the Foot Tech armor. However, they didn't appear to be able to become invisible. Donatello figured out why.

"It's the salt water around here," Donatello told Leonardo as he and his brother were back to back fighting The Foot. "The salt is probably corroding the wiring needed to maintain their invisibility." They were still strong and fast, but at least they could see them. The only one who wasn't wearing the armor was the young woman leading the Foot Tech Amazon. She also didn't appear to need it. She was a vicious and effective fighter, managing to throw Raphael to the floor, and beat back Michelangelo with a forceful kick. Then she tried to escape through an arched doorway behind him.

Leonardo flipped over a Foot Amazon, and kicked her from behind then took two more leaps to land in front of the same doorway. Without thinking twice Leonardo raced through the doorway.

Michelangelo partially stunned by the kick shook his head to clear it as he saw Leonardo enter the same doorway his opponent had. "Leo no!" He shouted. "You can't... go in there?" He got to his feet and raced over to the doorway, but as he had expected there was no longer a passage there. Just a sheet of white marble.

Donatello came up behind him. "Mikey, where's Leo? Most of the Amazons ran out the way they came. We got some of them but– Mikey what's wrong?"

At that moment Raphael joined them as well. "What are you guys standing around for! Leo went after that ninja that was training the Foot Amazons. We have to go after them!" Raphael pushed his way past his brothers and went to where the door used to be. "What's going on?" He demanded. "What happened to the door?"

Sylvia was the last to join them. "Leo went in there?" She asked. "Mikey that way leads -"

"I know!" Michelangelo cut her off. "How are we going to get him out of there?"

"Out of there?" Slowly the thought began to dawn on Raphael. "You mean he's trapped in there? Raphael began beating on the marble barrier in an attempt to free Leonardo from whatever trap he had stumbled into.

Michelangelo lowered his head and shook it in a resigned no. "That isn't going to work Raph. Leo's on his own now."

Trying not to allow his voice to tremble Donatello said, "First Raph gets hypnotized by the very walls of this place, and now Leo gets swallowed by a doorway. Mikey, what kind of place is this?"

Michelangelo looked away from them, and didn't answer.

Coming Soon Chapter 15 The Trial of Air

Finally he couldn't stand it any longer. "This isn't right," Leonardo said facing them all. "What's going on here?"

His three brothers and sensei looked at him oddly. "Aren't you happy Leo?" Michelangelo asked ?

"Is this not what you wanted?" Splinter asked.

What I wanted? There was definitely something about this that wasn't right.

"What does what I want have to do with this?" Leonardo asked suspiciously. "Weren't we supposed to be helping Mikey's friend Lillian and the mermaids?"

"Mermaids?" Michelangelo and the others laughed. "Bro, there's no such thing as mermaids."

"Mermaids are just a myth," Donatello added.

Now Leonardo knew that this wasn't real. There was no imagining that feeling that he had since they set foot inside of the mermaid's stronghold. "This is the myth!" Leonardo lashed out at the illusion. "None of this is real! I can still feel that I'm in the mermaid's temple! Now stop this right now and let me go!"

------------------------------------------------


	15. The Trial of Air

Chapter 15 The Trial of Air

Leonardo stopped short as soon as he crossed the threshold. He was back in the lair. Puzzled, he looked around. Michelangelo was sitting on the sofa watching the television. Donatello was working quietly at his computer, and Raphael was reading the latest sports magazine sprawled out on the rug.

Splinter was standing in the doorway of the dojo. "Welcome back, my son," his sensei said. He clapped his hands twice alerting the others. "Come, it is time to practice."

Without a word of protest or complaint the others stopped what they were doing and joined Splinter and Leonardo in the dojo.

Something is wrong, Leonardo thought to himself. He wasn't sure why he felt that way, but something was itching him under his shell, and that usually meant he was overlooking something.

They began their katas. For a few minutes Leonardo went along with it, still wondering what was wrong with this picture. When suddenly he had it.**_(9)_**

There were absolutely no distractions.

Of course there weren't supposed to be distractions, but between Michelangelo and Raphael they couldn't go five minutes without some form of disruption. Sometimes Michelangelo would fidget, or his stomach would growl. Raphael would hit Michelangelo for something almost a minute to the hour, but right now they had gone on for fifteen minutes with nothing of the sort going on.

Finally he couldn't stand it any longer. "This isn't right," Leonardo said facing them all. "What's going on here?"

His three brothers and sensei looked at him oddly. "Aren't you happy Leo?" Michelangelo asked?

"Is this not what you wanted?" Splinter asked.

What I wanted? There was definitely something about this that wasn't right.

"What does what I want have to do with this?" Leonardo asked suspiciously. "Weren't we supposed to be helping Mikey's friend Lillian and the mermaids?"

"Mermaids?" Michelangelo and the others laughed. "Bro, there's no such thing as mermaids."

"Mermaids are just a myth," Donatello added.

Now Leonardo knew that this wasn't real. There was no imagining that feeling that he had since they set foot inside of the mermaid's stronghold. "This is the myth!" Leonardo lashed out at the illusion. "None of this is real! I can still feel that I'm in the mermaid's temple! Now stop this right now and let me go!"

Suddenly the illusion melted into the mists of the room. Looking about Leonardo now saw that he was in a strange corridor of white crystal. It was hard to focus on any particular thing since the walls, the ceiling, the floors were all white. There was a soothing constant breeze in the room. As he listened to the breeze whistle through the hall, he could hear it whispering to him.

Go back to sleep, dream sweet dreams. Everything you wish you can have.

It was a very sweet seductive song, but Leonardo didn't have any trouble fighting it off a second time. "You can't fool me like that!" He said. I don't know what you're trying to do to me, but you're not keeping me here!" He drew his katana as if expecting a fight, and with it ready in his hand, he moved down the corridor.

A few yards down Leonardo caught up to the odd female ninja who lead the Foot Tech Amazons. She was just standing there in the hall looking up at the sparkling white walls as if mesmerized, and swaying to the melody of those bewitching winds.

Leonardo vaguely remembered Michelangelo warning him not to go down this corridor. Now he knew why. Obviously the chamber at the end of this hall held something very important. The mermaids were protecting whatever it was with a very clever trap.

Well that neutralized her quite effectively, Leonardo thought. All he had to do was find his way out of the passage, and alert the mermaids that their trap had caught one of the leaders of the Foot Amazons. There was a door in front of him which opened easily. Before him, lay a passage of swampy, muddy sand, about a hundred yards long.

Leonardo moved past the enthralled Foot, and a wave of pity flowed over him. He certainly didn't like the mermaid and their tricks, and yet he was willing to leave this young woman to their mercies. Leonardo sighed. As much as he didn't like to do it, he knew he was going to have to free the girl, and take her with him.

With a heavy sigh Leonardo shook the girl. "Come on wake up," he said. The girl blinked, and shook her head slightly as she came out of the trance. She looked about, and her eyes began to clear, but she shook her head instead , and closed her eyes again. "No," she muttered. "This isn't what I want!" To Leonardo's surprise she actually tried to get back into the dream.

"Wake up!" Leonardo said again shaking her harder. "What you're seeing isn't real! It's a mermaid's illusion!"

This time the girl did wake. On seeing Leonardo her hand instantly went to her belt where her weapon was kept. Leonardo had been prepared for that. "Looking for this?" He said as he held the razor sharp manriki gusari high. "Do you really think I'm so stupid that I won't disarm you before snapping you out of that spell?"

"What do you want with me?" She asked. Leonardo could almost sense her fear. She had been ruthless to him when he was her captive. He could only imagine what she thought he was going to do to her.

"I want you to come with me," Leonardo said. "As much as I don't like you, I like mermaid head games even less. "I wasn't just going to leave you here under their spell. You are my prisoner, but we're going to get out of here, together."

He still had his sword drawn and he was pointing it right at her. The ninja looked at the blade then bowed her head in defeat. "As you say, turtle."

"Good," Leonardo said not dropping his guard for a second. "Then let's go."

"Leo? LEO!" Raphael continued to bang against the opaque wall with his sai. He couldn't even chip the stone.

"Raph!" Michelangelo called to his brother. When Raphael ignored him he finally pulled his brother around and forced Raphael to look at him. "Raph, you can't reach him! That's all there is to it! We have to find Benten to see what we can do to get him out of there."

"Wait a minute, Mikey," Donatello said concerned. "What's going on here? Why did that doorway turn to marble when Leo went inside?"

Michelangelo placed his hand gently on the marble wall. "I'm still trying to figure out how Leo got in. This door isn't supposed to let more than one person in at a time! "

"Where is he?" Raphael demanded.

Michelangelo took in a deep breath. "That hall leads to the healing waters, but you have to pass a trial or something to get there."

"You have to pass a lot of trials before you get there," Sylvia said, poking her head up from out of the water. She hopped out of the pool and joined them at the door. "I mean, you can't get out until you do."

"What are these trials about?" Donatello asked.

Sylvia shrugged. "I don't know. I never did it. I'm just a kid." She shot back.

Before they could even ask him, Michelangelo said, "I never did the trials either, dudes, and anyone I ever asked always told me it was too personal to talk about!"

"You mean you don't know what's happening to Leo right now?" Raphael asked. Sadly, Michelangelo shook his head no. "So what are we gonna do?"

"All we can do is go talk to Sylvia's grandmother," Donatello said. "She has to know how to get Leo out of there."

"I hope so," Michelangelo said. The fact that he was worried didn't make Raphael or Donatello feel any better.

Raphael bit his lower lip and sighed. It wouldn't do to yell at Michelangelo. It wasn't his fault that Leo got himself caught in something like this. He only wished that Leonardo had stayed with Splinter. Finally, he said to the others, "Well what are we waiting for?" He gestured for Sylvia to take the lead. "Lead on, small fry."

Sylvia glared at him, but didn't argue as she led the way to the great hall.

Coming Soon Chapter 16 Trial of Earth

"Stop it, turtle! Stop it now!"

The female ninja's voice cut through his despair. Before he could address her she reached out and slapped him across his face hard once.

"Stop thinking those things, turtle! Snap out of it!"

The blow startled him. He shook his head out and suddenly saw that he was up to his knees in the muck. The ninja girl was before him grabbing on to his shell. "Come on turtle! You have to fight it!"

Did he want to fight it? If he sank below the mud would anyone really care? As much as the girl was pulling at him he felt himself sink deeper into the mud.

"Stop thinking that way!" She demanded. "The more unhappy you are the faster you sink! Don't you want to get out of here?"

"You don't understand," Leonardo said full of remorse. "I let Mikey down! I let them all down! I let my fears get the best of me!"

The ninja laughed at him and shook him harder. "Do you think you are not doing so here? Giving in to your doubts? If you sink all the way into the mud turtle, you will never free your brothers from this place! You will never defeat the Foot Tech Amazons. They will take over this place, destroy your friends and family, and I shall escape from you."

That got Leonardo angry. He pushed her down into the mud, and tried to draw his sword on her, but he found that she had taken them while he was sinking into the mud, and they were about a foot away from him. She had also retrieved her own weapon from his belt.

"I am not such a fool as you believe." She said mischievously.


	16. Trial of Earth

Chapter 16 : The Trial of Earth

Leonardo had the girl lead the way into the next chamber. As soon as they crossed the threshold, a door slid shut blocking their retreat. The ninja looked worried.

Okay," Leonardo said evenly. "Obviously going back isn't an option in this chamber. Whatever they're protecting it's got to be special."

"This is one of their treasure chambers?" The girl asked as they began their trek through the mud.

"I don't know," Leonardo admitted. That first trap caught me as well as you, so I think it's set automatically. Whoever stumbles into this area is vulnerable."

"Do you think that there will be more such traps?" The girl asked.

"I don't know," Leonardo said, "but I definitely don't trust this place."

They walked along together in the mud with the female ninja taking the point. Leonardo was behind her watching her every move. He knew the others were going to be angry with him for not leaving her there, but he didn't care. He didn't like these mermaids, or their tricks. He was sick and tired of being a pawn in this strange game of theirs.

It's not their fault the Shredder is after their treasures. His conscience told him. If you had been more understanding to Michelangelo, you might know more about the mermaids. He would have told you if you had asked. It's your own fault you're clueless about what's going on. You refused to help Mikey, and he nearly got killed by Hun. You're letting your brothers down and you know it! Ever since that mermaid came into your life you've been messing up! The others would be better off without you!

His heart was heavy as he realized how he had failed his brothers. He moved slower and slower through the muck which was making him feel worse and worse. It would probably be better if I sank down into this yuck and never came back. I'm totally useless to my family.

"Stop it, turtle! Stop it now!"

The female ninja's voice cut through his despair. Before he could address her she reached out and slapped him across his face hard once.

"Stop thinking those things, turtle! Snap out of it!"

The blow startled him. He shook his head out and suddenly saw that he was up to his knees in the muck. The ninja girl was before him grabbing on to his shell. "Come on turtle! You have to fight it!"

Did he want to fight it? If he sank below the mud would anyone really care? As much as the girl was pulling at him he felt himself sink deeper into the mud.

"Stop thinking that way!" She demanded. "The more unhappy you are the faster you sink! Don't you want to get out of here?"

"You don't understand," Leonardo said, full of remorse. "I let Mikey down! I let them all down! I let my fears get the best of me!"

The ninja laughed at him and shook him harder. "Do you think you are not doing so here? Giving in to your doubts? If you sink all the way into the mud turtle, you will never free your brothers from this place! You will never defeat the Foot Tech Amazons. They will take over this place, destroy your friends and family, and I shall escape from you."

That got Leonardo angry. He pushed her down into the mud, and tried to draw his sword on her, but he found that she had taken them while he was sinking into the mud, and they were about a foot away from him. She had also retrieved her own weapon from his belt.

"I am not such a fool as you believe." She said mischievously.

Now Leonardo was more than mad. He struck out at her with a flying dragon kick. She blocked that and the next blow. She wasn't trying to strike him. She was just blocking his attacks. When he realized that he stopped**** winded and confused.

"So now you are angry, yes?" she asked. "You're despair is no longer sending you into the mud below? Good****"

Her pleased reaction confused him. Then he realized what had nearly happened to him.

"It's....it's this place. It was making me remember...." He trailed of unsure of his own feelings.

"It made you remember that which troubles your heart the most," the young female ninja said gently. "The more you dwelled on that which causes you grief**** the more you slipped into the mud. This place is a trap."

Leonardo nodded as he retrieved his swords. "As much as the other chamber was," he said. He looked over at her and smiled. "So am I your prisoner now?"

To his surprise the girl smiled back. "I believe we should have a truce for now," she said thoughtfully. "Alone either one of us might succumb to these pitfalls, but if we work as allies perhaps we shall survive."

"Good idea," Leonardo said still thinking of the close call he had just had. "Let's keep moving then." As they started trudging through the mud that now only came to his ankles Leonardo said, "By the way, you can call me Leonardo."

The Ninja girl smiled at him. "My name is Freyja."

Benten was with Murial, Lillian, and two other mermaids when the four of them burst into the great hall.

"Benten! We've got a major problem." Michelangelo began.

Sylvia ran right up to her grandmother and jumped into her arms. "Grandmother, Leo's trapped in the trials of healing! We cannot get him out."

Murial frowned, as she looked down at the three remaining turtles. "If you haven't noticed we have an invasion to repel."

Raphael muttered under his breath. "Yeah, I almost repelled my brothers thanks to you."

Benten looked sternly first at Raphael, then at Murial, but said nothing to them. To Michelangelo she said, "My friend, If Leonardo has entered the trials I can do nothing. By his own strength and wits must he free himself."

"But Benten," Michelangelo answered. "Something went wrong! Leo followed one of the Amazons in there, the lead one. I thought you couldn't have more than one person doing the trials at a time."

Loraine, one of the other mermaid, now looked up. "Are you saying that Leonardo is in the trials with someone else?" The three turtles and Sylvia all nodded.

"Impossible!" Murial said.

"Fine, say it's impossible, but we saw it happen! Little purple ninja girl went in the door, Leo went after her, and then the door turned to stone!" Raphael said angrily.

Lillian looked up at Benten confused. "How can that be? The Trials are to be taken alone. The gateway should have turned to stone the instant the girl crossed the threshold"

Benten frowned in thought. "I do not know," She said. "For now we shall treat the trials as if it were normal." She looked down at Michelangelo sadly. "My child I am sorry but we have to leave Leonardo be for now. I assure you the trials will not harm him. Right now he and the ninja he pursued are safer than the rest of us, for while they are within the trials no one else can reach them.

"Why can't you just do whatever it is you do and just free him?" Donatello asked.

"The healing waters were a gift from the spirit of the earth to my people," Benten explained. "Normally those whose responsibility it is to distribute the waters go through the trials so that they know their own mind and heart, and so are better able to heal others. Once the trials have begun they cannot be stopped, or interfered with."

"Which is why only one person is allowed in the corridor at a time," Donatello said nodding. "That way the person doing the trial isn't interfere**_d_** with."

"Yeah but that other ninja is in there with him!" Raphael said. "What's gonna happen now?"

"That is what puzzles me," Lillian said. "The doorway should have shut the moment your ninja entered the passage. That it allowed Leonardo to pass through speaks of something unusual."

"Unusual or not, it will have to wait." Murial said. "Those Foot ninja you repelled earlier are back, and in greater numbers, and our first line of defense have abandoned their post!" That last statement came with a glare for the ninja turtles.

"Peace," Benten said. "They needed to report this odd turn of events to me, but now we must refocus on driving away the Foot."

"What about Leo?" Donatello asked.

"He is beyond our reach for now." Benten said sadly. "He cannot aid us in our battle, and we cannot aid him in his. Now we must prepare to repel our enemy."

Coming Soon Chapter 17: Halfway Mark

Donatello was still standing, but Michelangelo was still dizzy, and Raphael was still trying to struggle to his feet. Megan, a mermaid who was amazing with a smaller version of Benten's trident, was suddenly hit by the laser and fell against the pedestal holding the Gorgon's head. The box teetered, and slid off of its pedestal. Megan slid across the floor, and snapped down on the box before the lid could open. Her eyes were wide with fear.

"Megan!" Donatello asked. "What is in there?"

"The Gorgon's head!" Megan answered back sharply with fear. "It is forbidden to look upon it."


	17. Halfway mark

Chapter 17 Halfway mark

To keep from falling into the despair the muddy planes seemed to generate Leonardo and the ninja girl, Freyja, actually began to talk to each other. Freyja seemed a bit reluctant to talk about why they were here, so Leonardo took the opportunity to vent a little.

"So when My sensei told me that Don and Raph had gone after Lillian alone I knew I had to go after them. I wasn't going to let myself screw up again." Leonardo took a deep breath. "But that doesn't change how I feel about the mermaids. I can't stand the idea of having someone that intimately connected to my mind and heart, and I can't even fight it. I guess I'll just have to face facts, and give in. We're bound to them by something that's so deep inside of me that I can't even understand it, much less resist it, and I'm going to be like this for the rest of my life."

"You have been that way all of your life," Freyja observed genuinely curious. "The mermaids simply have awakened instincts that have slept within your mind for all this time. Now they are awake, and you do not know how to integrate them with what you already know."

"I guess," Leonardo answered pensively. "I just feel sometimes that I should have better control over my emotions or something. Despite all my discipline in ninjitsu whenever they're around I feel as if I have no control at all.

"No sad thoughts," Freyja reminded him. "We are near the end of the mud plane but we have not escaped yet." She was silent a moment, deep in thought. "Leonardo," she finally said. "It took you many years to master the disciplines you know well, no?"

Leonardo wasn't sure what she was trying to point out so he went along with her. "In a real sense I'm still learning. Every now and then Master Splinter reminds me that even though I'm better than my brothers, I'm not a master yet. I still make mistakes."

Freyja nodded. "My mistress Badb is the same. I am a mere novice compared to her. It stands to reason, however, if you have not master ninjitsu after training before you could walk, it would be very hard to master an instinct you have never known of before. It is not that you cannot, it is simply that self mastery requires much time. "

Leonardo smiled and nodded. "That's probably what Master Splinter would tell me too. Still I don't like the feelings I get when they're around. I'm just so confused. I don't know who I am anymore."

Freyja nodded sympathetically, then nodded ahead of them. "Look a wall rises up out of the mud. If we climb it we shall be rid of this melancholy land."

"Not soon enough for me," Leonardo said with a grin. The whole place generated depression. The moment his hands and feet were on the wall he instantly felt a weight depart his shoulders.

The wall seemed to be unadorned granite. It was relatively easy to climb. Neither Leonardo nor Freyja had any trouble scaling the wall.

When they reached the top they found themselves in a small globe shaped chamber made of opaque, white crystal. Around the edges of the wall were seats carved out of the crystal. In the very center of the room was a stalagmite and a stalactite linked together with a beam of turquoise energy. Floating within the beam was a small crystal sphere filled with water and light.

Welcome, a strange voice said into their minds. I was not aware of any wishing to endure the trial, and there should not be two of you. This is very strange.

Leonardo looked around. He didn't see anyone. "Freyja?" He asked.

The female ninja nodded. "I heard it too, but I see nothing."

Leonardo drew his katana as he scanned the room carefully, but there was not even a place to hide here. "Whose there?" He asked. "Show yourself!"

A dry amused chuckle answered them. And you do not know me either. Neither of you? This is very unusual. Can I be right in guessing that you did not undergo the trial willingly? Before either one of them could answer the voice said, Let me get a better look at you two.

Suddenly the light shimmering in the globe of water flew out of its container and circled Leonardo and Freyja. Tiny globes of light surrounded them and penetrated their skin. Leonardo flinched at the touch. "Get out of my head!" He demanded Freyja was no less alarmed, but she was struck silent as the globes went into and out of her body without leaving a mark.

Finally the globes of light joined again into a single sphere of light and returned to the crystal bowl of water in the center. Well well, well this is a surprise. Here I was looking for a candidate, and I find two lost children instead.

"Slightly nettled and unnerved Leonardo said testily, "We're not children."

The light laughed again. You are to me hatchling. I have been on this earth before your ancient ancestors down in the coral gardens. All creatures are but children to me, and what a pair of foundlings you are! You are lost and do not wish to be found, and you my dear don'teven know you werelost to begin with.

Leonardo shifted uncomfortably. He had an idea of why the globe of light said he did not want to be found. Instead he tried to change the subject. "What is this place? What are those traps protecting? "

Not traps, dear, trials, the lights responded. This is the pathway that leads to the healing waters. In order to reach the waters you must undergo the trials of the other elements.

"Other elements?" Leonardo echoed confused. He looked up to the ceiling of the chamber. There were five sea shells carved into the crystal, and each one had a symbol of the five magical elements. "Air, Earth, Metal, Fire, and Water." Leonardo read off of the wall. He hadn't forgotten the strange Elemental Foot warriors they had fought in the Shredder's building. Suddenly he understood. "To reach the healing waters we have to pass through the others? Is that what we're doing?"

"Leonardo," Freyja asked confused, "Do you know what this being is speaking of?"

"Kind of," Leonardo admitted. "Those symbols represent forces or elements in magic. Those two corridors we passed through, they were Air and Earth. We have to pass through the remaining two halls before we can reach the water and the exit."

"But we are not supposed to be here!" Freyja said. "Surely there must be another way to free us from this place."

Sorry dear, the only way out is to go forward, the light said. You have already passed two trials. The other two are harder, but you have this place to rest, and time to think.

"And who are you?" Leonardo asked.

I serve Gaia, the light said. The spirit of the earth. When men became civilized and began to despoil the earth, the great powers brought forth guardians to protect the landthe sea, the air, and all the creatures within. Each one was given a gift by the powers to aid them, and to guide mortals back along the paths of harmony. To the guardians of the sea Gaia gave the healing waters. Any who drink of them, will heal in body, mind and soul. The powers must have guided you here children, because both of you need to heal in several different ways.

Leonardo blushed a bit at the assessment, but Freyja stared at the light in confusion. "I do not need to heal, spirit," she said firmly.

Yes you do, dear, the light said unperturbed. Your life path has been altered to the point where it is nearly unrecognizable. Unlike your companion, who has had his brothers support, you are floundering in life because you do not know who you are.

Freyja was getting more and more agitated by this. "What do you mean, I do not know who I am?"

Finish your trial, The light advised. Once your mind and body are whole again, you will know what it is that your mistress has stolen from you.

The globe of light then turned its attention back to Leonardo. You too, must finish your trials, Leonardo, the light said to him formally. Your brothers need you, as do those who dwell here. If Badb is not stopped she will bring great destruction and ruin to those who fight against her. The, before Leonardo or Freyja could say anything else the light vanished leaving the room dimmed.

Leonardo heaved a heavy sigh, and thought about what they had learned. "We have to go on," he said

Freyja nodded. She looked up and the elemental symbols on the ceiling. "We have already passed through the air and the earth. What will the trials of metal and be like?"

Cool and business like Leonardo said, "There's only one way to find out." He turned to his companion, wondering why the spirit said that she was lost and did not know it. "Are you rested up?" At her nod, he said evenly, "Let's go."

Raphael quivered with tension as they waited in ambush for the Foot Tech Amazons to approach. They were deeper in the temple now, where some of those dangerous weapons were stored.

Benten had taken a huge bronze trident from the wall. Lillian had her knives. Sylvia was hidden down under the waters. No one wanted her hurt. The other mermaids had found other weapons that had been scattered around the chamber displayed on the walls.

Donatello was impressed with the glowing bronze trident. "Is that Poseidon's Trident? The one Mikey told us about?"

Benten nodded. "The Trident has great power. We were to guard it as well as other things here.

"Like this box?" Raphael noticed the black obsidian box the size of a small milk crate on a pedestal. Curious he tried to open it, only to have Michelangelo slam down the lid before he saw anything.

"Don't do that Raph! Nobody is supposed to open that box!" Michelangelo turned to see Murial near-by with a smirk on her face. "And you were going to let him look to weren't you."

Sounding smug the old mermaid security mistress said, "If you are all so intelligent, he should have known better. In the sea, if you are not clever you are dead."

The hostility between this particular mermaid and Michelangelo was almost palatable. "Why don't you go do something useful, Murial, and go play with the Lipo." He muttered.

"Peace," Benten said to both of them. The enemy is approaching."

Sure enough, twenty Foot Tech Amazons began to charge through the doors into the main chamber with more behind them.

Raphael and Michelangelo charged right into the midst of the group of Foot Tech Amazons. Instantly their laser weapons stunned Michelangelo and hurt Raphael's leg to the point where he could not stand. Donatello managed to disarm two of the Amazons but there were about thirty of the women and only fifteen mermaids. Donatello was still standing, but Michelangelo was dizzy from the attack on him, and Raphael was trying to struggle to his feet. Megan, a mermaid who was amazing with a smaller version of Benten's tridentwas suddenly hit by the laser and fell against the pedestal holding the Gorgon's head. The box teetered, and slid off of its pedestal. Megan slid across the floor, and snapped down on the box before the lid could open. Her eyes were wide with fear.

"Megan!" Donatello asked. "What is in there?"

"The Gorgon's head!" Megan answered back sharply with fear. "It is forbidden to look upon it."

"The Gorgon!" Donatello echoed as he analyzed what he knew about mythology. As another mermaid fell due to laser fire Donatello suddenly had an idea. "Megan I know you can reach your people telepathically. Ask Benten if the healing waters can cure people if the Gorgon is released.

"Release the?" Megan concentrated for a second then answered Donatello. "Benten said they could and to give warning if you intend to release the Gorgon."

Donatello nodded "Tell her on three everyone on our side should shut their eyes."

Megan nodded. "Everyone knows." She then handed over the box, and closed her own eyes.

Donatello followed suit. He cracked open the box just squeezing his hand in. Then he cried out in his loudest voice, "On three! One, two, THREE!" He grabbed the head, and pulled it out, keeping his eyes closed. He thrust his arm up holding the head aloft.

The silence that suddenly fell over the area was haunting. The only thing Donatello could hear was the breathing of those who had not looked at the head. Without opening his eyes Donatello felt for the box on the floor before him, and replaced the head back in its container. Once the Gorgon's head was secured he called out. "Clear guys! You can open your eyes now."

He opened his own eyes and an instinctive shudder ran through his body. All the Foot Tech Amazons were now stone statues.

Michelangelo was just coming around. He opened his eyes and rubbed them. "Duuude!"

Raphael was just as shocked. "Woah!" He said looking around. "Don, how'd you do that?"

"It wasn't me," Donatello explained as he held the box carefully cradled in his arms. "It was the Gorgon's head, or more specifically, the head of Medusa. According to Mythology her face was able to turn people into stone, even after she had died. "

"Are they dead then?" Raphael asked. Donatello shook his head.

"No, before I did it, I asked. Benten said the healing waters could cure them."

"It was an effective way of stopping our attackers without losing any of our fighters," Benten said, joining them. "It was well done."

"But what if they send more fighters down?" Murial asked. "What are we going to do then?"

"And we still have to get Leo out of that trial thingie," Raphael added.

"I only wish we knew what was happening to Leo down there." Donatello said with a sigh.

Michelangelo looked sadly at Lillian and Benten. "You guys know," he said with a slight whimper. "I know you always told me it was too personal to talk about before, but can't you tell me now? I mean we gotta know how to help Leo."

Lillian sighed and placed a tender hand on Michelangelo's shell. "Even if we were to tell you of our trials it would not help you, my friend. Only four of us here in the temple have taken the trails, and for each trial the challenges change to match the candidate. What your brother is experiencing now is not what Benten or I experienced. It is simply something no one knows unless they undergo the trials themselves."

Suddenly Michelangelo snapped his fingers. "Of course! Why didn't we think of it before!" He raced behind the great hall to the Oracle chamber.

"Michelangelo!" Murial cried out disapprovingly.

Michelangelo spun around at the entrance to the chamber. "Don't you see," he said excitedly. "If it's something no one knows about we can ask the Oracle!"

"The what?" Donatello asked. Raphael nodded with a grin on his face.

"Yeah. That Oracle thing talked to Mikey before. Maybe it can help us now." Raphael sheathed his sai and followed Michelangelo into the chamber.

"Benten, stop them!" Murial cried out annoyed. "They cannot use the Oracle to-" Benten interrupted her.

"The Oracle answers who she chooses to. If she chooses to answer Michelangelo we do not have the right to interfere. She went after the two turtles, entering the chamber, followed by Sylvia, Lillian, and finally Donatello. Still scowling, Murial entered the chamber herself.

Coming Soon! Trial of Metal

Leonardo wasn't getting room or time to attack his double. Illusion or some other strange magic, this fake turtle was faster and stronger than he was. "It wasn't like that it was-"

"You can't lie to me, Leo. I am you. I know everything you know. You left Mikey to get hurt because you didn't want to listen to him! You won't listen to anybody who doesn't want to do things your way, Leo and you know it!"

"That's not true!" Leonardo said parrying his double's attacks. "I–"

"You didn't even let Don and Raph make the decision to go off without you. You had to get involved then. Face it Leo, it's always been your way or the highway! You don't let any of the others do anything without your say so!"

Leonardo ducked under another blow, but within his own mind now some doubts began to creep through. "What are you talking about? What do you mean?"

His double sneered and attacked again. "You're a control freak, Leo. You complain about how much time Donny spends on his inventions, You complain about Raph's adventures, and you complain about everything Mikey does. You try to get everyone to do things your way! If you had your way Mikey would never see his mermaid friends again."

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	18. The Trial of Metal

Special thanks to pacphys for editing.

Chapter 18 Trail of Metal

The door before them opened up into a strange hall of silvered walls. All around them they saw their reflections dancing about the walls.

"What trial is this, Leonardo?" Freyja asked uncertainly. Leonardo could tell that she was as paranoid as he felt. With all the reflections around it felt to Leonardo as if he were being followed.

"Metal, I think," Leonardo said. "Look at the walls. It looks like everything here is coated with silver, but I don't know what kind of trial we're going to have to face to prove our worthiness to theses beings."

"It is very hard to tell where we are going," Freyja complained. "There are so many reflections I cannot tell what is the true path and what is an illusion."

Leonardo nodded. "Just like in a fun house, but I doubt we're in for a fun time."

Suddenly Freyja found a barrier between her and Leonardo. "Leo!" She cried out, startled. "Leonardo spun around, and moved forward only to collide into the barrier between them.

"Freyja? What happened?" Leonardo asked.

"I do not know where this came from," Freyja explained, as the glass began to take on a silver sheen and go opaque and reflective.

"Freyja? Freyja!" Leonardo banged on the panel, but it did not relent, and it did not break.

They're isolating us from each other. I thought they said we needed each other to survive the trials! Leonardo wondered what this trial meant if they were going to have to do it alone.

He drew his sword, and tried to slash through the mirrors. "I thought we were supposed to go through the trials together?" He shouted to the unseen watchers. "Why are we doing this one alone?"

"Because you're selfish, Leo," a voice said behind him. Leonardo turned around****to be faced with another ninja turtle. He stood there, his own swords drawn, with an angry impatient sneer on his face. Leonardo took a step back in shock. He couldn't believe what he was seeing.

It was him!

"What is this?" Leonardo said uncertainly. "Who are you?"

Don't you know, Leo?" Leonardo's doppelganger answered viciously as he advanced on the ninja turtle. "I am you, the part of you that knows the truth. The part of you that's sick and tired of the way you've been treating the others!"

The pseudo**_-_** turtle lashed out at Leonardo with his katana. Leonardo did a back flip to get out of the way, and drew his own blades. He noticed that the narrow corridor had opened up into a large room. He and this odd reflection of himself did have enough room to fight, but it hadn't been like this before.

Did the walls move? Or is this an illusion in my mind like the first trial? Leonardo wondered. "What are you talking about?" He asked his copy. "I didn't get them into this! If Mikey-"

"Who let Mikey nearly get himself killed?" The false Leonardo demanded angrily, as he attacked Leonardo again. "Who woke up and found himself left behind because Don and Raph were tired of the way you've been acting? You know why they left you behind Leo? Because they were afraid you'd freeze up on them, or worse**** talk them out of it. Isn't that why you left Mikey behind, because you couldn't talk him out of what he knew was right?"

Leonardo wasn't getting room or time to attack his double. Illusion or some other strange magic, this fake turtle was faster and stronger than he was. "It wasn't like that it was-"

"You can't lie to me, Leo. I am you. I know everything you know. You left Mikey to get hurt because you didn't want to listen to him! You won't listen to anybody who doesn't want to do things your way Leo, and you know it!"

"That's not true!" Leonardo said parrying his double's attacks. "I–"

"You didn't even let Don and Raph make the decision to go off without you. You had to get involved then. Face it Leo, it's always been your way or the highway! You don't let any of the others do anything without your say so!"

Leonardo ducked under another blow, but within his own mind now, some doubts began to creep through. "What are you talking about? What do you mean?"

His double sneered and attacked again. "You're a control freak, Leo. You complain about how much time Donny spends on his inventions, you complain about Raph's adventures, and you complain about everything Mikey does. You try to get everyone to do things your way! If you had your way Mikey would never see his mermaid friends again."

Leonardo bit his lower lip as he dropped to the ground, and did a backwards tumble to get out of range of his double and his weapons. He had been thinking that when he and Don had traveled down to the mermaids' stronghold. Was he wrong? Suddenly he remembered this was a trial. He wasn't supposed to overcome not his opponent, but something inside of himself. "How can I trust the mermaids, if I don't know anything about them?" He demanded**** trying to strike back at his double.

"You don't want to know anything about them," The mirror turtle countered. "You just want them to go away. You could have asked Mikey, but you didn't want to. You just wanted him to do what you wanted. If you had your way you'd have him abandon the mermaids when they need his help the most."

That accusation hit the odd instinct Leonardo still possessed in the gut. Even when they weren't around he could feel the connection to them. Now that he was down here, in their home, he couldn't even imagine abandoning them now. "You know I can't," Leonardo said. "I don't have any control over how I feel about the mermaids! They could force me to do anything they wanted, and I wouldn't have a choice at all!"

"Like they would!" His double said with a snort. "If you'd start listening to those instincts you have**** you'd know they'd never do anything to harm you. You just don't like them because you can't control them!"

Was he right? Was he that much of a control freak? He never thought about it that way before. He was the big brother, the one who had to watch out for the others because they were far more often in trouble than he was. Yet**** as he thought about it, Splinter had not forbidden Michelangelo from coming here after the rescue. He only told Michelangelo that he had to do what was right. Was that some sort of subtle signal that he trusted Michelangelo? Bigger question, If Splinter didn't say no, why did I try to?

Leonardo thought about another secret Michelangelo had kept from them all, His friendship with the veterinarian Robert Thomas. Leonardo rememberedbeing angry with Michelangelo for making a friend, but they had needed him when Splinter had fallen ill. Was I angry because I didn't trust Rob even though we knew April and Casey were all right, or did I just do it because Mikey never told me about him?

Leonardo took a long look at himself, and how he had been acting around the others. He found he didn't like what he saw. He was a control freak. He hoped he wasn't as bad as this illusion was making him out to be, but he couldn't be sure about that anymore. He silently vowed to talk to Master Splinter about that when he got home, and find out how he could get over being such a controlling personality.

Until then, he thought as he blocked the blows from his opponent. I have to make good on my own.

"You're right," Leonardo said**** lowering his blade. "I don't trust the mermaids because I can't control them."

His double stopped attacking him, and looked at him expectantly. "And," he asked.

Leonardo took in a deep breath. "And Mikey and the others have every right to keep their own secrets****, and make their own decisions in life. They don't need me hovering over them."

To his surprise his double smiled. "Yeah they do," he said. "It's just that when they've made up their minds you have to step back, and let them choose, and when they do choose you have to back them up, **** Even when they're wrong."

Leonardo sighed and nodded. He realized that this was about him, not the others. It wasn't going to be easy, but he vowed that this was a character flaw he was going to learn to overcome.

His double looked at him very pleased. "Good job, Leo," he said. "Only one more to go, but the next one is the hardest yet." With that, his double faded away leaving him in the corridor of mirrors.

Only now did Leonardo think of Freyja. What did she have to face about herself? What was she going through? He closed his eyes and tried to listen to the sounds around him. Sure enough he could hear the sounds of battle. Think Freyja, Leonardo thought as hard as he could. It's trying to tell you something about yourself that you won't like. Accept it, and you'll win. I had to face something about myself I have to change. Whatever your opponent is telling you, is right."

Leonardo wasn't sure what else he could tell Freyja that could help her. For several long minutes he listened to the sounds of battle, and he knew he could do nothing to help her.

Suddenly the mirrors on his left rippled and simply vanished. Freyja stepped out of the opening looking unsettled and uncertain.

Leonardo stepped forward and placed a hand on her shoulder to steady her. "Freyja?" he asked.

"Leo....Leonardo?" Freyja asked uncertainly. "I saw...I do not think you will believe me but-"

"You've been fighting with a slightly distorted reflection of yourself," Leonardo said with a slight grin. "It helped you see some flaw in your character that you know you have to fix when we get out of here."

Freyja looked at him startled. "She said that it is wrong for me to serve my mistress Badb because she does evil unto others, but she raised me from a child to be her strong right hand. She taught me to be strong and fierce, to crush my enemies beneath me. How can I abandon her?"

"But you had to agree with your reflection," Leonardo said. "Mine didn't let me go until I told him he was right."

"I know my reflection was right," Freyja explained. "I told her she was right, but when I told her it would be disgraceful to abandon she who raised me, she told me that was something I had to work out on my own. Then she released me." Freyja looked at Leonardo puzzled then said, "I heard you, you know."

"You heard me?" Leonardo echoed in question.

"I heard your spirit call to me," Freyja explained, "I...I did not want to admit that my reflection was correct, and that I was without honor for serving Badb, but then I heard your voice inside my mind telling me that I had to agree, and I knew I had to admit to myself that she was right, or I would be trapped in combat with her forever."

Leonardo wasn't sure what to think. "But...but I didn't even say it. I just thought it." Leonardo looked at Freyja and then at the mirrored walls around him. "What is going on with us in this place? How could you hear what I was thinking?"

"I do not know," Freyja said sympathetically. "I feel it as well. This place is changing us. Changing how we think about ourselves, and how we feel."

Leonardo nodded. "And there is more to come. Remember this pathway leads to the healing waters. I have a feeling by the time we go through those we won't be what we were."

"Let us take one thing at a time, Leonardo," Freyja reminded him. "We still must deal with the trial of fire. That will change us as well."

"I know," Leonardo said. "The Trial of Air was about what we want, and how it isn't what's best for us. The Trial of Earth, was about worrying about dwelling on things we can't change, and in this Trial we were forced to face something about ourselves we don't like."

"What do you think the Trial of Fire will be like?" Freyja asked.

"I hope you know yourself real well, Freyja," Leonardo said apprehensively. "Because there is only one thing I can think of that they would want us to face."

Freyja sensed Leonardo tense up. "What will they make us face, Leonardo?"

Leonardo sighed deeply and drew his katana. Holding them defensively he said, "we're going to have to face our worst fears."

Uncertain, Donatello followed the others into the chamber. It was perfectly round with a bench carved into the outer wall for sitting. The walls, all quartzite, glistened like they were made of ice. In the center of the room was a round pedestal on which floated a ball of light.

Michelangelo walked up to the railing surrounding the pedestal and bowed before it. "I call upon The Oracle, who sees what cannot be seen and knows what no one knows."

The light flared to life. "Welcome Michelangelo," The Oracle said. "Why do you, who know so much of the sea, seek knowledge here?"

Donatello backed up into Raphael surprised to hear a voice come from the light. "Raph, what's going on?" He whispered.

To his surprise Raphael simply hushed him. "Shhh watch," Raphael whispered back.

"You know what I know and don't know Oracle," Michelangelo answered back with a wry grin. "And you know what I want even before I ask it. What's happening to Leo?"

The Oracle sighed. "Michelangelo, you know I cannot tell you what occurs during the healing trials. No one must know prior to entry what it is they will face. "

"Aww**** come on!" Michelangelo argued back. "You know I don't care about the trial. I just wanna know what's happening to Leo!"

"He is alive, he is well, and he is succeeding. He has passed two trials already. I saw him where initiates are given counseling" The Oracle, said firmly. Michelangelo relaxed instantly, but the others weren't satisfied.

"Is that all you're gonna tell us?" Raphael asked sourly.

The Oracle flashed slightly. "And what is it that you wish to know, Raphael?" The being asked.

"Raph," Donatello whispered from behind him. "Don't get that thing mad at you."

Raphael ignored Donatello. "I wanna know what hoops we've gotta jump through to get him out of there. He isn't in there alone you know, and from what everyone here is tellin' me that ain't right."

The Oracle flared and flickered as if it were chuckling. "Ahh ye**s,** the girl. It was determined that alone the girl would never escape the trials, so your brother was permitted to follow her. We know that he will not abandon her."

"As much as he should," Raphael muttered.

"But how do we get them out of there?" Donatello asked, finally gathering enough courage to question the glowing light.

"There is nothing you can do for Leonardo or his companion, Donatello." The Oracle said. "By their own wits and skills are they to succeed in the trials."

Raphael glowered at the glowing light. "With all due respect, Oracle, I'd like to know what the shell are we supposed to do until then!"

Suddenly the Oracle began to glow brighter and brighter, and hovered higher above her pedestal.

"I don't think you should have asked that, Raph," Donatello said. Together they backed up against the wall.

"Hear this Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles," The Oracle intoned formally. "Badb is coming with her final wave of warriors to take the Rhinegold from the colony. I know that which no one else knows, and I tell you this. If Badb takes the Rhinegold before Leonardo touches the Waters of Healing This colony will be destroyed**_(2)_** and all within it."

Benten who had been silent throughout the interview put her hand to her heart and shivered. "No," she whispered.

But The Oracle wasn't finished. "But**** if so much as a scale upon Leonardo's toe touches the waters before Badb seizes the Rhinegold then the colony will be victorious."

"He'll never finish the trails before Badb reaches the colony." Murial said sourly. "The colony is doomed. We must evacuate now Benten"

"Shows what you know Murial," Michelangelo said as he drew his nunchucks. "The Oracle didn't say when Badb gets here. She said when Badb gets the Rhinegold. All we have to do is make sure she doesn't get it."

"You're mad," Murial said. "You can't fight Badb and win! She's a secret sorceress! She'll strike you dead where you stand!"

"So why are you complaining?" Michelangelo asked. When the others stared at him blankly he raised his voice and said, "You still don't get it! We don't have to win! All we have to do is stall for time! If Leo's finished two trails already he's halfway there."

"But the trials get harder the further on you go!" Lillian said. "You don't know how long it will take him to finish the trials."

"You don't know Leo the way we do, Lil," Raphael said. "Mikey knows your kind and us equally. If he says Leo has a chance, we have a chance."

Benten looked torn. "My young friend, your faith in Leonardo is commendable, and fills me with hope, but you cannot ask me to put the life of the whole colony and our charges at risk on your faith."

To her surprise Michelangelo agreed. "Of course not, Benten!" He said. "Take the girls and go! I just want the chance to stall! You heard what The Oracle said. If Leo finishes first we've got a chance!"

Benten sighed deeply. "Michelangelo," she began. Before she could get another word out Michelangelo looked up, and his voice became uncharacteristically serious.

"I'm not leaving Benten. I'm not going, and you can't make me. You have to protect your own people, and that's cool, but Leo is my brother."

"That goes double for me!" Raphael said standing by Michelangelo's side.

Donatello took up position on Michelangelo's other side. "All of us," he said.

Lillian glanced at Benten. She then turned to look at the three turtles. With a deep breath she turned, and took her place next to Raphael. "With your permission Benten," She began uncertainly. "The turtles have been my charges for over ten years. I would stand by them, and defend my home."

"Susan, a brown haired pixie of a mermaid with deep liquid green eyes, moved over to Lillian and the three. "I can fight, I want to stay too."

Two others also moved to Lillian's side. "I want to stay too!" Christi said.

"I can fight too, I want to stay!" Megan agreed.

Benten looked at the determined mermaids. "How can I say no to my brave younger sisters, and yet how can I leave you behind. If you wish to fight by the sides of our friends, how can I do less?" She turned to Murial. "Take the others, the animals, and go. When it is safe, we shall summon you back."

Murial frowned. "I think you are making a mistake, Benten. "I mean of course****if the turtles wish to fight a hopeless battle that is their choice."

Michelangelo smiled amused. "You're all heart, Murial." He said.

Murial glared at Michelangelo but then turned back to Benten. "But you should not throw your life away on a foolish hope. We have to go now!"

"No!" Benten said firmly. "If Lillian and the others wish to fight, it would be faithless of me to leave them. Take the others and go, but I shall fight beside our sisters, and our friends. That is my decision!"

Muriel sighed, and bowed. "You are the matriarch," she said simply.

Sylvia suddenly piped up, "I want to stay and fight too, Grandmother!"

At that Michelangelo shook his head. "No way, Siv. You're going."

"But," Sylvia began.

Raphael shushed her and said, "Sorry, small fry. This is no place for a kid."

Sylvia screwed her face up, but Donatello said, "You've got to take care of the animals. We're counting on you to take care of our cousins out there."

Sylvia looked at the three of them sadly. "But I don't want to leave Grandmother!"

"Finally the child is talking sense," Murial said. "You can't stay and leave your granddaughter."

Benten shook her head no. "You will take Sylvia to Hawaii to be with her mother, Murial." She ordered. "I will not leave the others to fight without me."

"Then I want to stay too!" Sylvia begged.

Michelangelo's face suddenly grew thoughtful. "Raph, gimmie your sai a minute," he whispered. Puzzled, Raphael complied as Michelangelo called Sylvia over. "Siv, come over here."

Equally puzzled Sylvia came over to Michelangelo. He held his right hand palm up. Sylvia's eyes widened and she looked at Benten in question. Benten slowly nodded with a proud smile. Reassured, Sylvia held her own hand out.

Michelangelo sliced with the sai across his palm just breaking the skin. He did the same to Sylvia's hand then held it securely in his own wounded hand. "My hands are your hands," Michelangelo said formally. "Where I walk, your footsteps will be heard beside me. Where my spirit goes, yours will follow, and when my hand strikes your hands will strike with mine, and my heart will be strengthened when I feel your heart beat next to mine." He drew her in for a hug and whispered gently in her ear. "I promise I won't let anything happen to Benten."

"That goes for us too," Donatello said.

"If Badb wants your grandma, she's gonna have to get through the three of us first," Raphael affirmed.

Sylvia was still surprised that Michelangelo had offered her this oath. She looked up at the other two with tears in her eyes. "Thank you," she said.

Benten nodded. "So, and just so." She nodded to Muriel. "Swim to the waters under Manhattan. If the colony is destroyed, take our people and go South to the Potomac. The colony there will inform the council, and send a message to the turtles' friend April. She will inform their master."

The three turtles tensed at that thought, but none of them were willing to back out of their plan. "Just make sure to tell our sensei that we died with honor," Raphael said firmly.

"I'll make sure," Sylvia said firmly.

As Michelangelo handed Raphael back his sai, Donatello grabbed onto Michelangelo's hand. "Let me bind that up before–" Donatello stopped in mid sentence as he saw that neither Michelangelo or Sylvia had a wound.

"Huh?" Donatello asked confused. "But I know you-,"

Michelangelo smiled smugly. "It's mermaid magic, Don. I saw one of their old warriors do that once when she had to leave someone behind. I figured it would make Sylvia feel better."

"Wait a minute!" Raphael insisted. "Are you telling me you just actually did something?

"Mermaid magic?" Donatello echoed.

Benten came forward and place a motherly arm around Michelangelo. "In his case it will not change things too much. He has been an elder brother to my granddaughter for so long they already share thoughts and strength, which is what the bond oath accomplishes." Then she hugged him and kissed his cheek. "It was well done, my young friend."

Michelangelo blushed at the complement. "It was the only way I could think of to get Siv to leave, Benten." Michelangelo said shyly. "I don't want her to get hurt either you know."

"I know," Benten said gently. "And I know that Sylvia loves you as her elder brother, and she is just as concerned for you as she is for me. Now we must prepare, my friends, Badb will be here before we know it.

Suddenly a noise outside the great hall caught their attention.

"Or sooner," Raphael said with a growl.

Coming Soon Chapter 19 The Trial of Fire

"Freyja," Leonardo said. "I'm sorry. I can't help you now."

"Leonardo no!" Freyja said concerned. "You are fighting an illusion! There is nothing there!"

"They're not an illusion," Leonardo tried to explain. "You just can't see them. It's like our reflections. It's this place that's generating them, but they're just doing it for me. I bet you can't see them because your trial is different, or connected. Either way, I can't help you conquer your fear, and I'm sorry. I don't like letting people down, but this time I don't have a choice."

"Leo, don't talk like this!" Freyja begged. "Just come back over to this side of the pit, and we can work this out."

Leonardo looked at the hoards of little lobster creatures crowding both sides of the ropes, and knew what it was that he had to do. "I don't think so, but don't give up. You can do this without me. Good luck."

With that Leonardo, closed his eyes, stepped off the rope, and allowed himself to fall down into the bottomless pit.

-----------------------------


	19. The Trial of Fire

Special Thanks to pacphys for editing

Chapter 19

The Trail of Fire

The next corridor was long and earthen. As they walked together Freyja asked, "Have you thought about it?"

"Thought about what?" Leonardo asked.

"What your greatest fear is?"

Leonardo shook his head. "No," he admitted. "I have a feeling this is one of those trials where we find out how little we know ourselves, or worse, how much we keep deluding ourselves."

"Ever since I was a small child I feared fire," Freyja said uneasily. "Badb would not see a weakness within me, and I learned to hide my fear, but I still fear it, even a fire place would drive me to the far side of a room." She hung her head in shame.

"Didn't Badb try to help you overcome your fear?" Leonardo asked. "I had a phobia when I was a kid too. My sensei worked a long time with me, and had to resort to a trick to shake me of it for good."

Freyja looked at Leonardo quizzically. "Badb did not help me to overcome my fear. She told me my fear showed weakness. If I ever reacted with fear she would punish me severely. "

That confused Leonardo. "I don't understand. How can you show such loyalty to someone who punished you for being afraid?"

"Badb told me I must be strong and not succumb to fears. She is very powerful."

Leonardo was going to argue the point more, but just then they came across a door with the fire symbol embedded in a giant scallop shell on the front. "I guess this is the place." He touched the symbol on the door. The symbol glowed in response, and the door slid open. Leonardo and Freyja looked at each other, they each took a deep breath, and walked into the chamber together.

Leonardo looked over the challenge before him. A superior grin played across his face. "If this is supposed to be my greatest fear," Leonardo said to Freyja, "Then somebody in this place is seriously slipping."

Before them stood a bottomless pit. Leonardo looking over the edge could truly not see the end of it. Across from the pit was a door very much like the one they had just entered, but there the symbol on the clam shell was that of water. The only way to the door was on a thick rope that hung suspended over the pit. Tongues of flames danced over the bottomless pit.

Freyja hissed as she took in a breath, and her grip increased on Leonardo's arm.

"Easy Freyja," Leonardo said soothingly. "You can do this. You're a ninja, aren't you?"

"I...I cannot cross the fires!" Freyja said trembling.

"Yes you can!" Leonardo insisted. "Remember I told you when I was little my sensei helped me overcome a fear. It was my fear of heights, and if you'll let me****I'll help you overcome your fears now. "

"No!" Freyja pulled away from Leonardo and pressed her body against the walls of the chamber. "I cannot do this!"

Leonardo sighed. "Freyja watch me! It's easy." Still facing her, Leonardo started to slowly pace backwards on the rope. He knew full well that he had the skill and the balance to walk this rope backwards if that was what it took to get Freyja to join him.

He steadily kept backing up on the rope keeping his eyes on Freyja. A quarter of the way across he stopped and called to her. "Come on Freyja! Don't look at the fires! Just look at me, and come here."

Freyja looked out at Leonardo surrounded by the dancing flames, and simply shook her head no, terrified beyond words.

"Yes you can!" Leonardo insisted. When he saw her eyes move back to the flames he said, "No! Don't look at the fire. Just look at me." When he had her full attention he said, "good. Now take one step forward."

Sweat pouring down her forehead, Freyja looked directly into Leonardo's eyes and took one hesitant step forward.

"That's good." Leonardo said. He could feel the heat around him, but the flames were not near the rope. He knew it was safe to cross. "Now keep your eyes on me Freyja, and take another step."

Very slowly she did so. Leonardo sighed**** relieved. Maybe this wasn't going to be as hard as he thought. Suddenly he felt the rope bounce as if someone had joined him over the abyss. Leo looked behind him. Twenty little red creatures were pouring out of a hole in the wall above the exit. They looked like some type of giant lobsters with six set of pincers instead of the usual two. Their heads had two large eyes protruding from stalks, and mandibles the size of shuriken, and just as razor sharp.

"Uh oh," Leonardo said uneasily as they converged on the rope. He drew his katana and waited to see what the little creatures would do.

"Leonardo? What is wrong?" Freyja asked.

That puzzled Leonardo for a second. "Can't you see them? There are almost two dozen of these little things."

"What things? Leonardo, I see nothing."

That made Leonardo wonder. Were these creatures some type of illusion? As if in answer, one of the little lobster creatures bit him on the leg. "Ow! Hey!" Leonardo began fighting off the little creatures. "Stupid little bugs!" The rope shifted and swung again making him look up. The creatures were biting on the rope.

"Cut that out!" Leonardo said, as he brought his katana down on the creatures. He easily vanquished them, but as he looked up again he could see more and more of them crawling out of the hole in the wall.

From her place on the edge of the pit, Frejya called out, "Leonardo, what is it? I don't see anything."

"You don't?" Leonardo asked, as he continued to fight the strange creatures. "There are these lobster things pouring out of a hole on the other side. There are too many of them!"

Freyja tried to move forward to pull Leonardo off of the rope, but the fire flared up and forced her back against the wall.

Meanwhile****for every creature Leonardo managed to knock down into the pit, five more would pour from the crevice to take its place. He was beginning to get a familiar ache in the pit of his stomach. He never forgot that feeling. Before he knew what was happening he flashed back to that horrid night that he first encountered the Foot Elite. He could see in his mind the appearance of the Shredder. That awful helpless feeling when he was flung through April's window nearly unable to move with pain.

NO! Leonardo thought to himself firmly. He forced the images out of his mind, and renewed his battle efforts. I'm not going to fail this time. I'd rather die than fail Freyja!

It was no use though. As hard as Leonardo fought there were more and more of those little monsters flooding out onto the ropes and chewing them into strands.

NO, Leonardo prayed silently. Please, no I can't fail!

I can't fail

Why can't you?

Huh?

Leonardo didn't know where the odd little voice came from in his head, but it sounded sort of like the reflection of himself that he had battled before.

Why can't you fail? The voice continued gently. What god decided that you could never fail or make a mistake? You have made mistakes this week. A lot of them. Did the world come to an end? Did you shrivel up and die?

Mikey almost died, Leonardo answered that strange voice within.

Everybody is going to die sometime, the voice answered. And you haven't answered the question. Why can't you fail? Why does it eat away at you every time you're not perfect at something? What are you afraid of?

Afraid?

Suddenly it hit him. Now he understood what he was facing. He breathed a silent prayer of forgiveness to the beings controlling this trial. They didn't misjudge him and set up a fear that he had already conquered. They had made him drop his guard and set him up to fail at the task he had appointed for himself.

I have to fail. I have to face failure and accept it. How could he do that though? It only took a few more seconds of battling the little lobster creatures when suddenly he knew. Failing in this task meant letting Freyja down. She was going to have to face her deepest fear alone.

"Freyja," Leonardo said. "I'm sorry. I can't help you now."

"Leonardo no!" Freyja said concerned. "You are fighting an illusion! There is nothing there!"

"They're not an illusion," Leonardo tried to explain. "You just can't see them. It's like our reflections. It's this place that's generating them, but they're just doing it for me. I bet you can't see them because your trial is different, or connected. Either way I can't help you conquer your fear, and I'm sorry. I don't like letting people down, but this time I don't have a choice."

"Leo, don't talk like this!" Freyja begged. "Just come back over to this side of the pit, and we can work this out."

Leonardo looked at the hoards of little lobster creatures crowding both sides of the ropes, and knew what it was that he had to do. "I don't think so, but don't give up. You can do this without me. Good luck."

With that Leonardo, closed his eyes, stepped off the rope, and allowed himself to fall down into the bottomless pit.

Raphael slid under the swing of the manriki gusari, caught the chain on his sai, switched the chain to his hand, pulled down the Foot Amazon on Badb's left then dove for cover as Badb let loose another violent stream of levin****bolts.

Badb was dressed in her black and purple dogi with her black hair bound up in a knot. In her dark grey eyes was a wild look as she used magic to attack the group.

Only now, facing Badb, did Raphael think about how crazy they all had to be to do this. Man, no wonder Murial didn't want to fight her. This old bat's crazy.

She was crazy, but she was also powerful. With her eyes glowing a sickly green, she was able to fling lighting bolts as if they were toys, and her aim was very good.

"How much longer do we gotta do this?" Raphael asked sourly as he ducked behind a pillar.

"Until your brother has finished his trials," Megan answered. "The Oracle said that he must touch the healing waters before Badb finds the Rhinegold for us to be victorious."

"What is this Rhinegold anyway?" Raphael asked. "Why does she want it?"

Michelangelo slid in past the fighting to join Raphael and Megan. "It's kinda like a Lord of the Rings thing. It wastes whoever wears the thing."

"It wastes them?" Raphael echoed. "Then why does she want it."

"Badb has never believed the tale of the Rhinegold," Benten said as she deflected the levin bolts with her trident. "She has always believed that if she wears the Rhinegold**** she will be able to destroy all that oppose her, and she will gain the ultimate power."

Suddenly a thought occurred to Raphael. "Wait a minute, you know her?"

Benten ignored Raphael's question. She rose from her position, and addressed the sorceress directly. "Badb, we will not let you succeed in your mad plan! Turn back or we shall be forced to subdue you!"

"You can try old fool!" Badb said contemptuously, "But you won't win!" With that she launched another barrage of lightning bolts straight at Benten. Without a thought to his own safety Michelangelo dove for Benten and protected her with his

own shell. Michelangelo cried out in pain as the back of his shell scorched and burned, but the lightning didn't penetrate to harm his flesh underneath.

"Mikey!" Raphael cried out. He rushed over to Michelangelo and Benten. Badb moved past them towards the main chamber.

"I'm...I'm Okay," Michelangelo said, wincing a bit. "My shell's just a little cooked."

Benten rose up from under Michelangelo. "Raphael hurry, we cannot let Badb reach the Rhinegold! It is in****the main chamber sealed inside of the throne!"

Raphael didn't need to be told twice. He raced for the main chamber and saw Badb. She was standing at the edge of the moat around the five tiered dais that held the throne of the matriarch. Raphael watched as she powered up again to fling leven bolts at the marble and crystal throne. He pulled a shurikin from his belt, and threw for her hands. A slim red ribbon of blood formed along the heel of her left palm. As she clutched her wounded hand to her breast she turned and faced her assailant with hate in her eyes. "You dare cut me you beast!"

"You'd be surprised at what I'd dare witch!" Raphael shot back eagerly, forgetting his earlier apprehension. His blood was hot now, and he was anxious for battle. He positioned himself between Badb and the throne, and waited for her attack.

Badb drew a dagger from her belt and began to charge Raphael, but at that moment Donatello managed to slip into the chamber and used his bo to trip Badb.

"I am beginning to see why Saki dislikes you turtles so much!" Badb shouted. Donatello was way to close to her and her next blast of mage energy threw him backwards into the throne cracking it slightly.

"Donny!" Raphael called out. Badb was getting ready with another blast, so Raphael dove for his brother, and shielded him from the second attack.

"Get out of my way you misshapen freak!!" Badb shouted out. She sent out another bolt of energy flinging both Raphael and Donatello against the wall of the chamber.

Raphael shook his head out, trying to clear it when suddenly the entire temple rang like a huge bell vibrating the walls and floor of the chamber. Even the pools of water all around the chamber vibrated making the surface of the water shimmer and dance.

"What the shell was that?" Raphael asked.

Benten and Michelangelo appeared in the doorway. A flash of lightning from Benten's trident threw Badb back into the throne. "Surrender Badb! You cannot win now!" Benten ordered.

"Does that mean Leo's reached the healing water?" Donatello wondered.

"Maybe that's what that bell thing meant," Raphael said rubbing a sore spot on his neck.

Badb began to laugh insanely as she rose from where Benten had thrown her. She rose to her feet with her eyes glowing a sickly green, and a golden ring glowing green on her finger. "Fools, Fools all of you! I have the Rhinegold now and nothing**** NOTHING can stop me!!" The energy of the ring flowed all over Badb's body and consolidated in front of her. Without even gesturing Badb blew Benten and Michelangelo through the door. At that moment a second bell rang through the temple.

"Now what was that bell for?" Raphael asked.

Donatello's eyes widened. "The girl! Remember, Leo's in there with one of those Foot Amazons!" But we don't know if the bell before was Leo's or not! Badb might have reached the ring before Leo reached the healing water!"

"Doesn't matter, Donny" Raphael said as he drew his sai. "We didn't know if we'd make it when we started this game. We might as well finish it up."

"You are so right Turtle!" Badb said with a wicked cackle. "It doesn't matter at all because you and all of yours are going to DIE!" Again the energy sparkled all around her and the two turtles found themselves flung out of the room with the force of her blow.

Raphael found himself forced against another wall. As Donatello helped him up he saw Michelangelo forced backwards by another blast. Michelangelo landed in the water that was being blown around by gale force winds. On the surface of the water bobbed a round pink object the size of a ping pong ball.

"No!" Raphael shouted in shock and horror. "Mikey's pearl!"

Coming Soon Chapter 20 Into the Water We Go

Why do you call yourself turtle? The voice asked.

Puzzled Leonardo answered, That is what I am. What I was before we were mutated.

Is it what you wish to be? The voice asked. The change in subject confused Leonardo.

What I wish-? Leonardo wasn't sure why but he now felt compelled to answer the voice aloud. "What do you mean? I mean that is what I am. I can't change that."

What if you could? The voice insisted. If you could be human, would you? If I could wash the sea from your blood, would you wish that?

-------------------------------


	20. Into the Water we go

Chapter 20

Into the Water we go

Leonardo had no idea how far he had fallen, or when the fall became more of a floating sensation. His eyes were still closed, He floated along in empty space with nothing around him.

Who are you? A voice that echoed from deep within, asked him. Leonardo wondered at the source of the call. It seemed to come from all around him, but at the same time within him. It was a female voice, but it wasn't the voice of the glowing light in the resting chamber.

I am Leonardo, He answered the voice. "I am a teenage mutant ninja turtle."

Leonardo heard a soft deep chuckle in answer. What does that mean? Teenage, I can see. You are very young. But why do you call yourself mutant?

Because I am a mutant, Leonardo explained. In his mind he could see memories he didn't know he possessed. They were very much like the stories Master Splinter told of how he found them in the sewers as babies covered by the ooze.

I see, the voice said thoughtfully. And why do you call yourself ninja?

Leonardo smiled at that question. Because I am a ninja. My Sensei, Master Splinter, has trained my brothers and I in the art of ninjitsu since we were very small. Again the memories came, happy memories that filled him full of confidence. Uneasily he opened his eyes, and came out of his curled position. He was floating in a sea of blue and turquoise with absolutely nothing around him.

And why do you call yourself turtle? The voice asked.

Puzzled Leonardo answered, That is what I am. What I was before we were mutated.

Is it what you wish to be? The voice asked. The change in subject confused Leonardo.

What I wish-? Leonardo wasn't sure why, but he now felt compelled to answer the voice aloud. "What do you mean? I mean that is what I am. I can't change that."

What if you could? The voice insisted. If you could be human, would you? If I could wash the sea from your blood, would you wish that?

Suddenly the string of questions began to make sense. "Who are you?" Leonardo asked uneasily. "Who are you that you can change what I was hatched to be?"

From all around him he could feel the power of this being hum. I am Gaia, the living spirit of the earth. All things whether they fly, swim, or crawl belong to me. They are a part of my song. Before you even existed, you and your brothers were mine. The mermaids are mine as well. Like the oracle, they are my guardians, and handmaidens. They guard the seas and all who live within from those who would do them harm. They live only to serve my children, and yet you fear them like you fear no living thing.

Guilt flooded Leonardo as he realized why this spirit was questioning him the way she was. The lessons he had learned during the trial welled up inside of him. "It's not them I fear," he tried to explain. "It's the fact that they can control me. That when I look at them, I want to obey them. That they can make me forget everything that I am."

Do you believe that they mean you harm?

Leonardo knew the answer to that instantly. "I know they don't. The problem is inside of me, not them."

What will you do Leonardo? The voice asked gently.

Leonardo took a deep breath. "I don't know," he admitted.

The energy wrapped around him as if in a hug. To comfort your mind and heart I shall tell you why your ancestors and you, in your turn, are driven to love the mermaids. It was not written into your people to do so. It was written by your people, and all children of the sea, to reciprocate the love and devotion that is within all mermaids to the children of the sea, earth and sky.

Leonardo was nearly shocked speechless. "Do you mean that we weren't programmed to love and protect mermaids, but that the mermaids were programmed to love and protect our ancestors? "

And over the eons your people reciprocated until it became as much a part of them as the shells upon your back. The Earth Spirit explained.It was all in love,

Leonardo nodded quietly. Master Splinter always said that love was a force that was even beyond the understanding of the greatest masters. He closed his eyes for a moment and looked inside of himself. He could see now how the bond between the four of them and the mermaids were formed. He still didn't like the fact that it was an overwhelming force, but he could understand and accept it.

And the more you learn of it, the more you will understand. The earth spirit said. Now rise to the surface. There is one more thing that you must know.

Rise to the surface? Suddenly, Leonardo was aware that all the blue he was floating in was water. With a few powerful strokes of his arms, his head broke the surface of the pool. He rubbed the water away from his eyes and looked around at his surroundings. He was in a room of cut crystal and white marble. Most of the room was the fountain of water he was in. One side was deep going under the walls and off into another part of the temple. Above the deep side was a waterfall going further up than he could see. The other side was shallow leading up onto a sandy shore. On the shore was a small fountain that also ran into the pool.

In awe Leonardo swam to the shore, then walked up to the fountain and stared at the water. He didn't even need to be told. Looking deeply into the crystal clear sapphire blue waters, he knew. These were the healing waters that Lillian had used on him and Raphael when they were young.

He didn't drink from the fountain. He knew he didn't need to. The fountain's waters drained into the larger pool. He had swum in those waters, and felt all his aches and pains fade away. He needed no further healing.

Suddenly a cry from above made Leonardo look up. Far above him he saw a small, slight figure falling through the waterfall down into the pool below. Instantly, Leonardo recognized the figure. "Freyja!" He called out.

Leonardo, wait.

Leonardo froze in his tracks, and watched as the girl fell into the pool below the waterfall. As she floated there stunned the healing waters began to take on a strange golden sparkle as they flowed from the fountain on the shore into the pool and over to where Freyja floated. Suddenly the water around Freyja began to glow, enveloping the girl.

"I don't believe this." Leonardo said out loud. He wasn't sure what to think, but the words of the oracle earlier began to make sense. "She really was lost and didn't know it."

Floating in the water was no longer a human being, but a mermaid. Her tail was an iridescent dark green that glistened as light reflected from her scales. Her hair was no longer a tight braid against her back, but it was unbound and flowed freely in the water surrounding her like a halo.

Leonardo waited no longer. He waded back into the water, and retrieved Freyja, dragging her over to the shore line. She was still unconscious. "Freyja?" Leonardo asked uncertainly. "Freyjacan you wake up?"

Freyja groaned, and tossed her head a bit before she opened her eyes, brown no longer, now they were a sparkling ocean green. With a little moan she answered. "Leo...Leonardo? You...you jumped off the rope!"

"And you braved the fire to come after me," Leonardo said with a smile. "You conquered your fear, and boy, that Oracle wasn't kidding when she said you needed healing, look"

Freyja looked down at her tail for the first time. Her eyes widened in shock. What...what happened I...I'm"

"I think you're a mermaid." Leonardo said. "Remember what The Oracle said? You were lost and didn't know it."

Freyja looked at him lost and looked down at her tail again. "But...but I do not understand."

You were stolen from your mother when you were very young. Badb tried to train you to be everything the mermaids fight against. It is her way to harm her enemies to steal what is most precious to them and turn it into a weapon against them.

Freyja stared up and the glowing light alarmed. "It's okay," Leonardo said hastily. "She's some kind of earth spirit." Then addressing the being he said, "I understand now. In the beginning when I couldn't leave Freyja trapped by the first trial. I was acting on instinct. Even though neither of us knew, I couldn't leave a mermaid in danger.

Nor could she leave you in danger once the trials began. The trials call you to learn who you are. She felt compassion for you, as you felt for her. That has beenthe way it has been for both of you for longer than you can possible imagine."

"I'm beginning to get the idea," Leonardo said with a sigh. Freyja was trembling with fear and sorrow.

"All of the horrible things I have done, harming you and your brothers. My whole life has been a lie!"

Leonardo felt sorry for her. He knew how Kurai felt serving the Shredder, but she chose that life. Freyja had been kidnapped and brainwashed, She must feel like her whole world is over.

"It's okay," Leonardo said gently. "I forgive you, and so will the others. I know they will, but you have to help us make things right, Freyja. You have to help us defeat Badb."

Freyja nodded fervently. "Yes, I wish to atone to my people and to this spirit for the wrongs I have done."

Gaia's light shown down on them like a benediction. All will be well then, my long lost child," She said. "But you both must hurry. Badb has taken the Rhinegold from its place, and now places it upon her finger. She will bring death and destruction to the temple, the colony, and your brothers, if you do not stop her now.

Leonardo nodded mentally shifting himself back to all business. "Lady Gaia, how can we leave this chamber? We were told we'd be free if we finished our trials."

Looking around he didn't see any way out of this room.

Look to the waters for the tunnel out, and do not fear to swim long. As long as Freyja is with you, her ability to breath under the water extends to you. Go now**** and hurry before Badb causes great grief and pain.

With that the greatglowing spirit vanished. Leonardo took in a deep breath before deciding what to do. It wasn't hard. Somehow he knew that Michelangelo and the others were close by, and he knew that they would never leave until they knew he was safe. He looked down at the lost and found mermaid, and gave his friend a grin. "Ready for a swim?" He asked her.

"Yes," she said firmly "I wish to avenge myself against Badb for making me into a weapon against my own people." She offered her hand out to Leonardo who took it in his own. Then he dove into the waters next to her and the next thing he knew he was being pulled through the water at an incredible speed, heading to where he could hear, though the water, the sounds of battle.

Both Leonardo and Freyja popped their heads out of the water. On the far side of the chamber was another pool of water. Along the shore were several mermaids, Donatello, and Raphael. Donatello was helping Raphael up from the ground. Wind was blowing at gale strength around them all, and the water of the pool was whipped up as six foot waves.

Suddenly a small pink object appeared in a wave and was forced to the shore where it got stuck in the sand. As he got to his feet Raphael said, "No! Mikey's pearl!"

His pearl? Suddenly Leonardo remembered something Michelangelo had told him what seemed to be a lifetime ago.

"With this I can breath underwater, she's got more underwater gadgets than Donny does.

Without that pearl Mikey can't breathe. Mikey can't breathe! Leonardo thought. Both Donatello and Raphael raced for the water, but another wave forced all of them back. An elderly mermaid with a trident and Lillian with her knives both dove for the water.

"Freyja with me!" Leonardo called. Freyja nodded and followed him as he leaped from water to shore in one bound. Somehow Freyja managed to turn her tail back into legs and followed behind him. Leonardo raced across the floor, scooped up the lost pearl, tucked it into his belt, and hit the water passing both a surprised Donatello, and Raphael. One of them might have called out Leonardo's name, but he didn't answer as he focused on his brother below the water.

This pool seemed warmer than the cool waters of healing, but Leonardo barely noticed as he focused only on finding Michelangelo. Opening his eyes under the water he saw the dark sorceress inside of a swirling vortex of water. A golden ring rested on her finger, and both she and the ring glowed with a slickly green light. She was locked in battle with Lillian and the older mermaid. Michelangelo lay on the floor of the pool unconscious.

"Mikey!" Leonardo didn't even notice that the magic pearl was working for him. He turned to Freyja and pointed. The new mermaid nodded and pulled Leonardo

along getting him to his brother's side in a heartbeat. "He can't breathe underwater without your help!" Leonardo told Freyja. "Get him to the surface fast!"

Freyja picked up Michelangelo and began to swim to the surface leaving Leonardo behind. Lillian had turned to see him. "Leonardo?"

That made the other mermaid turn as well as Badb launched a ferocious attack at all of them. Freyja well ahead of them was not caught in the wave, but Leonardo would have been lost had not both Lillian and the older mermaid grabbed onto both his arms and dragged him to the surface. Even though he did not have to, Leonardo took in a deep breath of air as they reached the shore. Behind him he could hear Raphael, panicked, as he had never heard his brother before. "Breathe ya goofball! Come on Mikey, Breathe!"

Suddenly a cold chill ran down Leonardo's spine. How long had Michelangelo been without his magic pearl? Could he be gone? Could he have failed? For a second the world around Leonardo began to turn to ice as he thought about having failed Michelangelo.

What god decided that you could never fail?

I can't control what happened before I got here, Leonardo thought to himself as he forced his mind out of it's icy prison. But I can make sure she doesn't kill anyone else, even if I have to cut her hand off to get that damn ring from her! With a renewed energy born of a need for vengeance, Leonardo drew his swords, checked the pearl in his belt, and dove back into the water. Splashes at his side told him that others had joined him in the battle.

Leonardo ignored them as he swam for his goal. Facing the dark sorceress sorceress Leonardo shouted. "Give it up Badb! You're not getting away after what you did to my brother!"

Badb laughed evilly. "Your brother? Your brother? Don't worry about him, you'll be joining him soon enough!"

"Surrender Badb," a strange female voice said. Leonardo turned to see the elderly mermaid who he had seen before. Her hair was salt and pepper, tied in a bun behind her, and she carried a huge crystal trident that hummed and glowed with power. "You have already written your doom by taking the Rhinegold for your own. We only wish to make sure we do not join you in your destruction."

"My destruction? MY destruction?" Badb Laughed insanely. "Benten you naive fool! I will crush all of you under your own waves!" With that she made a throwing gesture and a wave of water sent all of them tumbling back. Leonardo tried desperately to attack but she forced him back with another jet of water that dislodged the pearl from his belt, allowing it to fall to the ground below.

Oh no! Leonardo managed to stop from taking in a breath, but he had no idea how long he was going to be able to hold it with Badb tossing them around like leaves in a storm. Fortunately a pair of arms wrapped themselves around Leonardo's arm. It was Freyja.

"You can breathe with me!" the mermaid announced. "Come on!" She pulled him behind her protecting him. "Badb! Stop! This is wrong! These are my people!"

Unfortunately seeing Freyja as a mermaid set Badb into a raw fury. "You, YOU betrayer! How dare you break the spells I set upon you!"

"You tried to make me an enemy to my own people!" Freyja called out. You are the one who betrayed me, and any who gave you loyalty!"

"FOOLS!" Badb gestured again, driving Freyja and Leonardo back to the shore. Badb now hovered just above the water, glowing with the sickly green power that emanated from the ring on her finger. Just behind her a dark shadow loomed in the water.

Badb cackled as she gestured wildly, sending up sprays of water. Leonardo suddenly had a sinking feeling that they were all going to die, and there was nothing anyone could do about it. He could accept failing now, but the only thing that bothered him was that they would never see Master Splinter again, and he would never know what had happened to his four turtle sons.

The shadow moved closer, not disturbing the top of the water at all.

"Fools!" Badb shouted again. "With the Rhinegold, I am invincible! You shall all be crushed by my power! First you shall fall! Then the Foot shall submit to me! Then I shall conquer your sisters across the seas, and when I–"

Suddenly the shadow behind Badb lunged out of the water. For a split second Leonardo saw a flash of huge jaws with jagged teeth followed by a huge flipper passing over his head. A shocked and frightened cry was suddenly cut short. Before he could register what exactly was happening he saw the liplurodon's massive head with Badb's limp legs sticking out of the creature's jaws. Then ancient sea reptile lowered itself below the water and was gone.

Leonardo slowly let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. From behind him he could hear Donatello say timidly. "She's....she's gone?"

Suddenly the water at his feet began to churn again. Leonardo didn't know what to think. He held perfectly stilltoo shocked to even move. Just as he was beginning to think that he was next on the menu, a spray of water arched high above him. As the water fell back to the ground something shiny fell from the air and landed with a plop in the shallows at Leonardo's feet. It was the ring that Badb had worn on her finger.

"Don't touch it, Leo!" Raphael suddenly said, with a slight edge to his voice. He was obviously still shaken by what had just happened. "Benten said that putting that thing on would destroy Badb in the end, and she just became their watchdog's dinner.

Leonardo nodded silently. He was still too overwhelmed to talk. He reached out his hand to where he heard Raphael's voice. Without asking why, Raphael put one of his sais in Leonardo's hand. Very carefully, Leonardo squatted down and fished the ring onto the end of the sai. Then he looked for the elderly mermaid who the others had all called Benten. In her hand was a box of black obsidian lined with red silk. He didn't need to be told what to do. He allowed the ring to slide down the sai into the box. Benten then closed the box and handed it to Lillian.

Coming Soon Chapter 21 Resolutions

Leonardo asked quietly. "You are Benten, the leader of the mermaid colony here?"

She nodded once slowly.

Leonardo nodded back and then took in a deep breath. He drew his katanas and placed them on the floor, and knelt before them. In a voice that only trembled slightly from greif he said, "Lady Benten, Any promises my brother Michelanglo made to you, any debt that he or we might owe you, I hereby vow to fufil ten fold. We...I owe you, and your people, more than I can ever repay."

"I see," Benten said.

----------------------------


	21. Resolutions

Special Thanks to pacphys for editing.

Chapter 21 Resolutions

Leonardo handed Raphael back his sai, and turned his attention back to the elderly mermaid. For a long moment Leonardo and Benten just stood there looking at each other. Then Leonardo asked quietly. "You are Benten, the leader of the mermaid colony here?"

She nodded once slowly.

Leonardo nodded back, and then took in a deep breath. He drew his katanas, placed them on the floor, and knelt before them. In a voice that only trembled slightly from grief he said, "Lady Benten, Any promises my brother Michelangelo made to you, any debt that he or we might owe you, I hereby vow to fulfill ten fold. We...I owe you, and your people, more than I can ever repay."

"I see," Benten said.

Whether she might have said more Leonardo never found out, because at that exact moment a very familiar voice behind him said, "Benten, if you take him up on that deal, I am sooo out of here!"

Leonardo blinked, and spun around. "Mikey?"

Sitting behind him with the remaining two mermaids at his side, Michelangelo continued with a mischievous gleam in his eye. "It's bad enough I've got Leo up top telling me what to do all the time. If he starts hanging out here, I just may hitch my way south to the colony in Florida!"

"Mikey!" Benten and everything else forgotten, Leonardo ran forward and hugged Michelangelo touching him to make sure he wasn't imagining things.

Raphael and Donatello equally shocked move forward slowly. "But...but I saw!" Donatello said amazed. "You weren't breathing when they pulled you up!"

Michelangelo giggled as he hugged the two mermaids closely. "Oh honestly Donny, me drown? In a mermaid's temple? Didn't you read up on my ladies before you came down here?"

With a slightly amused smile Benten came to join them. "A mermaid can call back any spirit drowned in the sea, simply by calling their name and giving them some of their own breath in a kiss."

Still grinning like a cat that swallowed a canary Michelangelo said, "Gee, if I knew that would have gotten me free kisses before, I'd have drown sooner!"

"You'd better not!" Raphael said thwapping Michelangelo lightly on the head. "There's no way I'm going through that again."

"I agree," Leonardo said. He tried to sound stern but he couldn't help smiling as he did so.

Lillian came back to Benten's side. "The other Foot Amazon's are restrained in the great hall. We must deal with them."

Benten nodded. "Agreed." She gestured gently to the four turtles as Raphael helped Michelangelo to his feet. "Come, it is time to finish our business with these intruders."

Leonardo and the others followed Benten to the great hall. Leonardo looked in awe at the multi stair dais. The pools of water all around and the fountain behind the dais. In the center of the room stood the fifty or so Foot Tech Amazons surrounded by more mermaids with swords and tridents. An elderly mermaid with grey hair and an unusual scowl stood to the side. Sylvia came rushing up and jumped into Michelangelo's arms.

"Mike! Are you all right? Lillian said you almost drown! And Leo almost got eaten by the Lipo! You promised you'd be careful! You said-"

"Woah! Slow down little lady! We're all fine!" Michelangelo said**** trying to get a better grip on her. "And Leo passed the trials too!"

"He did?" Sylvia looked at Leonardo with a new respect! "Awesome!"

With a grin Raphael said, "That kid has been hanging around you way to much, bro."

Benten smiled and gestured to Freyja**** who was very shy hiding behind Leonardo. "Yes he has passed all the trials, and has returned this lost child to her people****where she belongs. As soon as we have sent the Shredder's people on their way we will have a grand celebration."

Raphael, Donatello, and Leonardo looked at each other confused. "Send them on their way?" Donatello echoed?

"We can't let those girls go," Raphael added. "They know how to get down here now!"

"Do not worry so, my young friend," Benten said gently. "We have ways of dealing with even female invaders." She looked sternly at the female warriors. "Ninja of the Foot clan, you have invaded our temple and home, and have threatened our secret and lives. We are a merciful people. You shall be released in another location, after you drink a potion that will remove your memories of the past forty eight hours."

One of The Foot females glared at the mermaid with contempt. "And what if we refuse to drink your potation, freak?"

Benten's face then grew dark. "Then you will be sent to a colony of my people, and remain there for the rest of your lives."

"Sorry Foot Ladies, Mermaids can't afford to fool around. Can't keep fighting off stupid invaders when they're supposed to be protecting oceans." Michelangelo said with a grin.

Leonardo was impressed though with Benten's first offer, which of course was the Foot Amazons best bet. A few of the Foot ninja looked very unhappy, and a thought occurred to him. "You know, Benten, some of them might be afraid to return to The Shredder. He's not too forgiving of those who fail him."

"I see," Benten nodded thoughtfully, then said, "Of course any who wish asylum from the Shredder will be welcome within the refuges of our agents."

Leonardo smiled as he saw several of the young women relax at that.

Benten gathered the Foot women before three archways that glowed with a soft blue light. "Drink, and choose your destination. The door to the left leads to the Eastern Coast of Brazil and the Amazon. The door to the right leads to the Western Coast of Africa, and the door in the Center goes to The High Council at the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. Drink, and go."

The sullen Foot warriors looked back at the angry mermaids, drank the cups before them and all entered one of the three archways. Within minutes all the Foot Amazons were gone.

"And now my friends," Benten said with a relieved smile, "We shall eat drink and make merry!

The food was different from what Leonardo expected. Most of it was boiled or raw shellfish, and sea plants. Michelangelo was comfortable enough with it and was eating as if it were food from home. Donatello quickly followed suit. It took Raphael a little longer to try the new foods, but he soon found that they were good and he was eating and drinking along with the others.

Leonardo didn't feel right celebrating. Not that he didn't think they deserved it. It was just that he felt that one of them had to be on alert and not thinking about the partying right now. He smiled as he saw Raphael dozing in the corner surrounded by five of the mermaids. Leonardo had never seen Raphael so calm and relaxed in his life. Donatello was seated in a hot tub with a young mermaid named Tara and they were talking about his inventions. Leonardo couldn't be sure, but it looked like the girl was really interested. Donatello was obviously delighted to have someone to listen to him. Leonardo wished that he could talk to Freyja, but several of the other mermaids had taken her into a back chamber so they could question her about her false life, and help her adapt to her new one.

"Your brother's seem to enjoy the celebration." Benten said suddenly from behind Leonardo.

Leonardo decided not to take the bait, and answered honestly. "Your people are very beautiful and friendly, Lady Benten. It would take harder hearts than ours not to be moved by them."

"And you four have not had many lovely young ladies crooning over you, no?" Benten said with a wry grin. "I know that Michelangelo enjoys coming here to be with my charges. He is quite the flirt when he wishes to be.

Leonardo hid a smirk. Benten knew Michelangelo all too well. Before he could answer her Michelangelo came up behind them with some shrimp wrapped in seaweed.

"Cool party, right Leo?" He asked.****As he gulped the shrimp down whole and continued with his mouth full, "Isn't it great down here?"

Leonardo couldn't help but answer Michelangelo with a slight smile. "I can see why you visit here, but we have to be going soon. Master Splinter is probably very worried about us."

Michelangelo glanced over at Raphael who was sound asleep in one corner and Donatello who was still talking to Tara, but his conversation was being punctuated by yawns. "Yeah, well Benten and I have an idea about that, but what I wanted to ask you is what happened with that Foot girl in the passage leading to the healing waters? How'd you beat the trials?"

Leonardo opened his mouth for a moment, but then closed it again. He didn't really want to talk about it. The experiences he had in there were a bit too close to home to want to tell anyone about, even one of his brothers.

Leonardo bit his lip, thinking about how he could gently change the subject. Michelangelo noticing his pensive expression suddenly frowned. "Don't tell me, it was kind of intense, and showed you a side of yourself that made the whole thing a little too personal to talk about." Michelangelo rolled his eyes to the ceiling.

Benten laughed amused. "I am sorry my friend, but as I have said before, in order for you to understand you will have to undergo the trials yourself."

Sylvia ran up besides them and jumped into Michelangelo's waiting arms. "Every time someone goes through the trials they tell Mike the same thing!"

Now Leonardo knew why Michelangelo was so put out. He had figured the mermaids simply wanted him to undergo the trials himself, and now he had essentially told Michelangelo the same thing. "Sorry Mikey, but you hit the nail on the head. I really don't wanna talk about it. I just want to go home."

"Yes, about that," Benten said. She led Leonardo over to a more secluded alcove with a bench. Michelangelo and Sylvia followed behind. "My people have many ways of traveling. We know of a way to transport you and your brother's home quickly without having to have you swim all the way back to the surface."

That caught Leonardo's attention. "You can do that?" He asked amazed.

Benten nodded. "Yes**** but it will require your cooperation. My people can open a porthole between here and anywhere a body of water exists. Then one or several minds focus on where they wish the porthole to go. Michelangelo suggested that since Raphael is already asleep, and your brother Donatello seems to be weary it may be easier to return them this way than to wake them to go home, or wait until they have rested."

There was something funny about this. Leonardo eyed Benten critically. "You said you needed my help to do this?"

"In a way," Benten said, she led him to a small alcove with a bench. Once seated she explained. "It is very difficult for many minds to focus on a single thing. With my people this is overcome by our link to each other's minds, but if Michelangelo is directing the porthole it is best for him to do so without other thoughts interfering. Since Raphael is asleep he will not interfere, and before we are finished here, Donatello will be asleep as well, however if you remain awake and aware, Michelangelo might have difficulties directing the porthole.

"You want me to go to sleep?" Leonardo asked hesitantly. Instantly he was on his guard. They don't want me to just go to sleep, they're going to put me to sleep. He knew the mermaids didn't mean any harm, but the idea of allowing them to lull him to sleep didn't set well with him. He still wanted to be in control of himself.

"Michelangelo told us you may not wish to rest here. With your brothers off their guard, you would naturally compensate for their lack of attention. He told us you would most likely not rest until you returned home, even though we know you are weary."

Just talking about how tired he really was made Leonardo feel every ache and made his limbs feel heavier. "You...you just want me to go to sleep." Leonardo said accusingly. He stifled a yawn.

"If you were to sleep, we could transport you and your brothers instantly home. "Benten reminded him. "If you do not wish to sleep you will have to wait until your brothers are rested, and go home the long way. What do you wish to do?"

Leonardo wasn't sure. He was tired, and he wanted to go home right now and get some rest, but he didn't want to give in and allow Benten to send him to sleep. "I...I don't know," he admitted as he tried to shake off his exhaustion. "I just don't want to be forced into anything."

Michelangelo sighed as he joined them at the bench. "Leo, it's not forcing if you just let it happen. If you close your eyes now we'll be home in a heart beat."

It would be so easy to give in. Leonardo knew they were both taunting him with what he wanted, but he shook his head firmly. "I won't let you put me to sleep." He insisted. Michelangelo sighed impatiently.

Benten gestured to Michelangelo to be silent. "You need not sleep completely," Benten said gently again catching Leonardo's attention. "You need only allow your mind to quiet. You shall not lose your awareness, but your mind shall be clear****allowing our magic to work properly."

Leonardo could feel himself on the edge of Benten's power, and yet she was not forcing it on him. It was just there for him to take or refuse. He was just aware of it. "I don't understand," he said.

"If you do not wish to sleep, you need not." Benten explained. "All you need to do is allow your mind to grow still. As long as your mind is quiet it shall not interfere with our porthole."

Leonardo frowned. "You still want to do something to me." he insisted.

"I only wish to help you." Benten insisted. "You only need to allow it to happen."

"Leo, will you just trust us on this? You do this, we'll be home in time for breakfast." Michelangelo said.

"And you will see how we accomplish such a thing as well." Benten added.

That caught Leonardo's attention. "I'll see it happen?"

"Yes," Benten said, fixing her eyes on Leonardo's. "But you must clear your mind. Simply allow it to happen." She offered her hands to him.

Still Leonardo hesitated, until Michelangelo said. "Leo, do you want to go home or not?"

The one thing that would make Leonardo allow Benten to enchant him. He looked up into her bewitching deep blue eyes, took her hands, and said, "I would like to go home now."

Benten smiled and closed her hands over his. Suddenly a warm comfortable feeling washed over him. He was still tired, but it was an odd type of tired. He wasn't a bit sleepy he just wanted to go relax somewhere. His thoughts slowed down as if they had gotten stuck in a thick**** sweet syrup. He hadn't forgotten anything, but it was just too hard and strenuous to work for. It felt so good to stop thinking and just relax.

Benten took Leonardo by his hands, and led him over to where both Raphael and Donatello were sleeping curled up as if they were children again. Leonardo didn't even feel his feet touching the stone floor. It was as if his thoughts were wrapped in marshmallows. He could only follow along passively and allow Benten to seat himself next to his brothers. Somehow he managed to remember that Raphael kicked in his sleep and snuggled against Donatello. He didn't feel like moving at all. He just watched as Michelangelo came and sat in front of them.

"Are you sure about this Benten?" Michelangelo asked glancing over at Leonardo.

"He is not thinking about anything at all now my friend," Benten reassured him. "I am sure your will and determination will allow you to transport you and your brothers home."

Michelangelo smiled at that. "Okay Benten, if you say so." He turned and nodded at the group of ten mermaids who were sitting off to the side of the dais. "Ladies if you please."

Lillian,****who was in the lead of the mermaids smiled and nodded her head. As one they began to sing. It was the first time Leonardo had heard mermaids sing without being afraid. There were no words to describe how haunting and beautiful their combined song was. It stirred something inside of him he had never felt before, finally understanding what it was that fascinated Raphael all this time.

As they sang, a small glowing light began to form in the room. The light grew bigger and brighter the more the mermaids sang. When the light was the size of a small car Leonardo had to shut his eyes because the light was too bright. Still he could sense the light behind his eyelids. It was growing brighter and brighter, and the song of the mermaids became louder and louder, until the only things Leonardo was aware of was the mermaids song and the warmth and light all around him.

Suddenly both were gone. The light had vanished, and with it the warmth. The room was silent except for the distant rattle of subway cars and the steady soothing dripping of water into a puddle. The air was cooler now and taking in a breath of air, Leonardo could smell mildew, and exhaust fumes. The warm stone beneath him was now cool and damp. They were home. He didn't understand how this was possible, but he knew the smells and sounds of home. He could finally relax he could finally rest.

Leonardo was asleep before he even heard his sensei's greeting.

Coming Soon The Final. Chapter 22 Home again

Suddenly an eerie**** high pitched hum was heard in the tunnels surrounding the lair. It was faint at first, but grew stronger and louder as the source of the sound grew closer. The sound began to vibrate everything in the liar from the cup on the coffee table to the table, to the very floors and sofa. Not understanding Splinter tensed himself for action. He could feel the very molecules of air vibrate, making his own fur stand on end.

The strange whine was making the air molecules vibrate in patterns. Splinter could see waves in the air above like ripples in a pond.

Or in the ocean?

Again and again the waves of air appeared. They began to form a large translucent bubble. The waves formed layers upon layers on the bubble, making it grow, spreading out invading the space of the lair. Curious Splinter reached out and touched the bubble, but it found himself pushed backwards by the sphere.

Undaunted the bubble continued to grow as if fed by the very vibrations in the room. Splinter backed up forced by the bubble until he was pressed against the walls of the lair.

------------------------


	22. Home again

Special Thanks to pacphys for editing.

Chapter 22 Home again

Splinter again stared sadly around the lair. Silence answered him. How often in the course of the last fifteen years had he wished for peace and quiet? How many flips had he assigned his sons for disturbing him. He remembered that he once sent them all up to North Hampton because he wanted a little quiet. Now he had all the quiet any one could want, and all Splinter wanted was to hear the voices of his sons again.

Be careful what you wish for, he thought to himself, quoting the age old proverb You may get it. He sighed heavily. Perhaps he should have not sent April home. She was more than willing to stay with him over the night, but he felt that he shouldn't be a burden on their human friend. April had spent most of last night trying to console him. She told him that the mermaids were good people. They would not keep Michelangelo and the others against their will, nor would they entrance them.

In truth it was not the mermaids that Splinter was worried about. As confidant he was about his sons' abilities, he knew the Shredder, and he knew the size of the force Saki would use to overwhelm the mermaid stronghold. Splinter knew that the possibility of his young sons being defeated was very real. He knew he must be hopeful, but with every passing hour the silence in the lair ate at his optimism.

He made a cup of tea, and was going to try to distract himself with the television He found himself staring at the remote Donatello had made and wondering what had happened to them.

Suddenly an eerie high pitched hum was heard in the tunnels surrounding the lair. It was faint at first, but grew stronger and louder as the source of the sound grew closer. The sound began to vibrate everything in the liar from the cup on the coffee table to the table, to the very floors and sofa. Not understanding, Splinter tensed himself for action. He could feel the very molecules of air vibrate, making his own fur stand on end.

The strange whine was making the air molecules vibrate in patterns. Splinter could see waves in the air above like ripples in a pond.

Or in the ocean?

Again and again the waves of air appeared. They began to form a large translucent bubble. The waves formed layers upon layers on the bubble, making it grow, spreading out, invading the space of the lair. Curious, Splinter reached out and touched the bubble, but found himself pushed backwards by the sphere.

Undaunted the bubble continued to grow as if fed by the very vibrations in the room. Splinter backed up, forced by the bubble until he was pressed against the walls of the lair.

Then suddenly the bubble burst into a sparkle of light and sound. Splinter flinched at the unexpected fireworks, but the sparkling lights and noises did nothing. As Splinter's eyes adjusted to the change in light he saw the shadows of four familiar figures.

Splinter gasped in shock, and allowed his vision to clear. Laying in a heap together, were three of his four sons, all sound asleep. The fourth, Michelangelo was seated lotus style among his sleeping brothers with his eyes closed, an expression of intense concentration on his face.

Splinter watched as Michelangelo took one breath, then another, and then opened his eyes. "Yes! I did it!" on his right Leonardo sighed deeply, and smiled as the last of the tension fell from his body.

Michelangelo rolled his eyes amused. "Figures, once we're home, then he falls all the way asleep." Michelangelo then looked directly at Splinter. "Hi Senseiwe're home!"

"Michelangelo!" Splinter greeted him clearly delighted. "What is it that you have done? Where are your friends Lillian and Sylvia?"

"That," Michelangelo said as he rose to his feet, "is a very long story sensei."

Leonardo shivered as a cool breeze tickled the back of his legs. Why was it so cool? Where did the summer like heat go? Leonardo sat up and opened his eyes in an attempt to figure out where he was. He looked around, rubbed his eyes, and looked again.

They were in the lair! Leonardo stared at the inactive video monolith for a moment trying to remember what had happened. Was this another mermaid trick or something? Vaguely Leonardo recalled Michelangelo and Benten had told him that if he cooperated there was a fast way home. Suddenly his foggy memory cleared. He had agreed to this plan. He had been exhausted and he had not wanted to fall asleep in the temple. They had told him he had to be asleep to make the mermaid's trick work. Benten had promised him that if he cooperated he would retain his awareness, but his mind would be cleared. Leonardo couldn't recall why he had said yes, but he knew that he had. Benten then made him sit down next to Raphael and Donatello, and had done what?

Leonardo wasn't exactly sure what Benten had done, but he remembered the odd sensation. The emotion defied definition even as Leonardo tried to analyze it. He had been aware of everything that had been going on, but he hadn't really cared. It had been strange, but not frightening. Did it bother him now?

It shouldn't, Leonardo thought to himself. We're safe, we're home, and the mermaids are far away. Leonardo rose to his feet, and looked down at Donatello and Raphael. Both of them sound asleep with smiles on their faces. Leonardo wondered what they were dreaming about."

He didn't worry about Michelangelo's absence. Off in the kitchen he could hear Michelangelo talking softly with Splinter. Leonardo rose to his feet and followed the voices into the kitchen. Michelangelo and Splinter were seated at the kitchen table with cookies and tea. Michelangelo was giving his version of what had happened below to their sensei.

"...and I thought we had it for sure, but suddenly out of nowhereLeo shows up, and he starts going after Badb, but then Badb tried to fry him, but then-"

"Then Badb got eaten by your friends' pet." Leonardo finished with a mischievous grin. "For a moment I thought I was going to be next on the menu.

Both Master Splinter and Michelangelo spun around delighted. "Leonardo, you have finally awoken!," Splinter said. He sounded delighted and relieved.

"Leo!" Michelangelo said with a grin. "You up already? I figured you'd sleep for a week once we were home."

"I might have, if you had left me a blanket," Leonardo answered back with good humor. "I woke up because I was cold."

"A warm bed should remedy that, my son," Splinter said with a smile. With that he led Leonardo up to his own room and got him back into bed. Once settled, Splinter sat next to Leonardo's bed and said gently. "I have heard from Michelangelo, now I wish to hear from you. What occurred down in the mermaid's temple?"

Leonardo opened his mouth then closed it again. "Sensei I want to tell you everything, but I'm still not sure what exactly happened to me, and I haven't had time to actually think about it." Leonardo sighed pensively.

Splinter nodded, and Leonardo noticed his sensei's hands twitch resisting the urge to tuck his son in. Instead he patted Leonardo on the shoulder. "You have been through a trying ordeal. Sleep, we shall talk more in the morning."

Splinter smoothed out the threadbare blankets over Leonardo, and rose to leave the room. In seconds Leonardo found himself alone. He couldn't repress or ignore it any longer. He had to figure out what he had learned in the Mermaid's temple.

The one thing he learned that was important was that the mermaids were not evil. They were mischievous to be sure, and mysterious. There were probably dozens of secretes down there that even Michelangelo does not know. Yet still, they did not keep these secrets to be cruel. They were guardians, protectors in their own way, and they chose to include the four of them within their protectorate.

They were good people so why did he feel so uncomfortable around them? The lessons from the healing trails welled up in his mind. There under the ocean in their domain he was subject to them. He knew they wouldn't harm him but that tiny tug on his soul made him feel out of control.

And I need to feel in control of myself. I never knew that before, but it's true. He also hadn't realized that he had tried to control his brothers. That was going to stop today. The others had the right to follow their own path just as he did.

And that means I'll have to accept the mermaids, and learn to get along with them.

Is that so horrible? His conscious asked.

Leonardo sighed. No, I can get along with them. I can respect who they are and still keep my distance.

That seemed to be the answer he needed. He could feel the tension flow out of his body as he drifted off into and deep restful sleep.

Three weeks later

Leonardo blocked the jab from Raphael, and spun around to give him a side kick in the shell. Raphael fell down with a grunt, but he jumped up again, did a somersault past Leonardo, and disarmed his brother with a dragon kick. Leonardo's Katana flew out of his hand and stuck into the wall. Only then did the pair call a time out.

"Good move," Leonardo said, as he pulled his sword out of the wall. Raphael didn't say anything. He just grinned and leaned against the opposite wall.

Leonardo retrieved his katana and sheathed it. "You wanna go another round?" he asked.

Raphael chuckled as he stretched out. "No thanks Leo. You got a couple of good shots in too. I'm ready for a break." Raphael's stomach rumbled. "Man, I'm starving. Whose turn is it to make lunch."

The two exited the dojo, and went back into the main part of the lair. "I think it's Mikey's turn," Leonardo answered. As they reached the kitchen they saw Donatello preparing ham and cheese sandwiches.

"Don?" Leonardo asked confused. "Where's Mikey?"

Donatello didn't bother looking up from his lunchtime preparations. "Oh he got a message from Benten, and left for the temple about an hour ago. He said he'd do supper when he gets back."

"If he's planning on being back for supper I'll bet Sylvia's gone AWOL again," Raphael said with a smirk." He took one of the finished sandwiches and tossed another to Leonardo.

"You mean he's back meeting with the mermaids?" Leonardo asked as he caught the sandwich in mid air.

With a sly smile Donatello said, "He's been seeing them on and off since we came home, Leo. He just doesn't tell you."

Leonardo took one bite chewed and swallowed. "So he tells you guys, but he doesn't tell me," He said accusingly.

"He tells Splinter," Donatello said evenly as he put the mustard and lettuce back into the refrigerator. "He only tells one of us if we catch him leaving."

"Or if it's Sylvia," Raphael reminded Donatello. "Something's going on with that kid. She knows she's supposed to stay below, but she keeps sneaking off to come up here."

Donatello grinned amused. "How can you keep them under the sea after they've seen New York?" He joked.

Raphael shrugged. "For at least two weeks the kid's been running off. Poor Mikey has to track her down almost every other day."

Donatello finished cleaning up the lunch things. "If Sylvia's gone missing again maybe we should give them a hand."

"Good idea, Don," Raphael said, and then both he and Donatello glanced over to Leonardo. "You wanna come along, Leo?"

Leonardo relaxed. They were including him even though the situation involved the mermaids. "I have a better idea," Leonardo said. "The mermaids use the run off by 79th street to get in and out of the sewers. I'll wait up there and ambush Sylvia if she swims by.

Raphael chugged down the soda and crushed the can in his hand. "Good idea, Leo," he said tossing the can into the recycle bin. "If we find her we'll chase her that way."

Leonardo smiled, and the three of them left the lair. Donatello and Raphael headed for the surface, and Leonardo headed for the run off.

The waterway was deserted, but that suited Leonardo fine. He wanted time to think. He hadn't known that Michelangelo was seeing the mermaids again. He guessed that Michelangelo wanted to still keep the mermaids and the three of them separate, and that was the only reason he hadn't mentioned them to him.

It could be more, Leonardo reminded himself. Mikey doesn't know how I worked out things. He probably still thinks I would keep him away from them. It would take a little time for Michelangelo to realize that Leonardo was being cool about the mermaids.

A ripple of water alerted Leonardo to a swimmer in the river below him. He tensed, ready to pounce thinking that it was Sylvia. He was about to jump into the cool river water below when he saw not Sylvia's ebony black hair, but a halo of flame colored locks. Leonardo pulled back, and Lillian's head broke the surface of the water.

"Sorry," Leonardo said sheepishly. "I was waiting to ambush Sylvia Don said that you called Mikey, and Raph thought it might be about her."

Lillian sighed frustrated. "Yes, she has escaped again. I do not know what is wrong with that child. Only Michelangelo seems to be able to persuade her to go back below."

"I can't imagine why she'd be doing that," Leonardo said with a shrug. "I haven't seen her topside though, but I guess she's avoiding me too."

Lillian looked at Leonardo quizzically. "You are being very calm about this."

Leonardo smiled slyly. "I can't keep Mikey from seeing you, and I shouldn't try," he explained. "He has every right to have you as friends. So I might as well get along with you. How I feel about mermaids has nothing to do with any of you. I know you are trustworthy. I just don't like that those emotions in me were automatic even before I knew they were true."

Lillian nodded wisely. "I see. Benten thought you would feel this way after you had time to think. She has commanded all of us to leave you be, and allow you to approach us at your will. It will not always be possible, but we have all promised not allow our essence to lull you into complacency. "

"Thank you," Leonardo said. "That means a lot to me."

"Could you do me a favor as well, Leonardo?" Lillian asked. When he nodded she said, "Could you please tell Michelangelo these things? He is very sad because he believes that you still fear us. He wishes to share us with you. He has been our friend for a very long time."

"I know," Leonardo said evenly. "I've just been waiting to get him alone so I could talk to him.

Lillian smiled broadly. "Wait here." She said,then an instant later a splash replaced her.

Leonardo smiled as well. There was no doubt in his mind she meant to find Michelangelo and have them make amends as soon as possible, and that suited him fine.

About ten minutes later Michelangelo came from the east tunnel a puzzled look on his face. "Leo? Lillian told me that you were down here."

"Yeah," Leonardo said calmly. "I saw her just before." Michelangelo looked so confused Leonardo decided not to play games with him. "Mikey, it's about time you and I had a long talk."

The End.

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